NYPD officially names Frank James a suspect in Brooklyn shooting

The New York Police Department (NYPD) and New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) officially named Frank James a suspect in the Brooklyn shooting that saw dozens of people wounded on Tuesday, saying he is no longer just a person of interest.

The NYPD tweeted Wednesday that it is currently seeking information on James, who it said fired “numerous gun shots inside an ‘N’ line subway car at 36th St & 4th Ave subway station causing serious injuries to 10 people.” At least 23 people were injured in total.

Authorities are offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooter in the Brooklyn subway shooting. 

Adams press secretary Fabien Levy said that James is not in NYPD custody at this time.

The Hill has reached out to the NYPD for comment.

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday that the police recovered a U-Haul key at the scene of the shooting, which led to the recovery of a U-Haul van in Brooklyn. James is believed to be the renter of the van, which the police said was rented in Philadelphia.

“The male who we believe is the renter of this U-Haul in Philadelphia is a Frank R. James, male 62 years old, with addresses in Wisconsin and Philadelphia,” Essig said at a news conference. “We are endeavoring to locate him to determine his connection to the subway shooting, if any.”

Essig added that in addition to the U-Haul key, authorities recovered a Glock 17 9 mm handgun, three extended Glock-type magazines, three discharged shell casings, 15 bullets, five bullet fragments, two detonated smoke grenades, two undetonated smoke grenades, a hatchet and gasoline.

Adams told NBC Wednesday that James “carried out a very sick action” and that authorities are focusing on his “apprehension at this time” and on gathering the evidence they need for this case. 

James has also been linked to multiple videos posted on a YouTube channel in which he reportedly talked about violence and mass shootings, according to CNN.

The outlet added that James talked about killing people in the latest video he uploaded on Monday, a day before the attack.

“I’ve been through a lot of shit, where I can say I wanted to kill people. I wanted to watch people die right in front of my f—— face immediately. But I thought about the fact that, hey man, I don’t want to go to no f—— prison,” James said in the video, CNN reported.

Online posts connected to James based on preliminary information also mentioned homelessness, New York City and Adams, according to NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

As a result, Sewell said the mayor’s security detail will be heightened “out of an abundance of caution.”