NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- The NYPD has identified a person of interest connected the mass shooting at the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn, New York that left at least 23 people injured, including 10 who were shot, during rush hour on Tuesday morning, authorities said, amid a manhunt for the suspect who authorities said put on a gas mask, set off smoke bombs and then opened fire at passengers on a train and platform.
Police said Frank James, 62, is connected to the attack, but at this time it is unknown if he is the gunman.
At an earlier afternoon press conference, the FDNY had said 16 people were injured, including 10 who were shot. Five are in critical but stable condition at several area hospitals.
“There are currently no known explosive devices on our subway trains and this is not being investigated as an act of terrorism at this time,” NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at the briefing, which was attended by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
Sewell said no one suffered life-threatening injuries in the shooting, which happened aboard a Manhattan-bound N train as it waited to enter the 36th Street station at 8:24 a.m.
Sewell said a man donned a gas mask and then took a canister out of bag and opened it. The train filled with smoke and he opened fire, striking multiple people on the train and platform.
The commissioner said the suspect is a Black male, about 5 feet 5 inches tall with a heavy build. He was wearing a green construction vest and a gray hooded sweatshirt.
Hochul said, “This is an active-shooter situation right now in the city of New York.”
Of the victims, the governor said, “They left their homes en route to school, en route to their jobs and to a normal day. That sense of tranquility and normalness was brutally disrupted by an individual so coldhearted and depraved of heart that they had no caring about the individuals that they assaulted.”
The FDNY said it was called to the scene of a smoke condition a little before 8:30 a.m. at the station and found multiple gunshot victims as well as several "undetonated devices." The NYPD later tweeted that there were "no active explosive devices," however multiple smoke devices were found.
Images on social media show multiple injured people lying on a platform of the station or limping around amid pools of blood and clouds of smoke. Blood also covered the floor of the N train.
In video obtained by 1010 WINS, gunshots can heard on board the train as passengers rush away. Witnesses said people were already shot before the train arrived at the station. Some passengers escaped into the tunnel as others rushed onto the platform.
“My subway door opened into calamity. It was smoke and blood and people screaming,” eyewitness Sam Carcamo told 1010 WINS, saying he saw a gigantic billow of smoke pouring out of the train once the door opened.
A supermarket worker said he saw crowds of people running from the subway station, including a woman with a gunshot wound to at least one of her legs, maybe both. She was screaming for help and laid down in the street, where she was soon attended to. She was said to be among the victims who’s in stable condition.
Mayor Eric Adams, who is isolating at Gracie Mansion with COVID-19, released a video message, saying City Hall is in close contact with city, state and federal officials.
"We're praying for all New Yorkers who were injured or affected by today's attack," the mayor said. "The suspect in today's attack detonated smoke bombs to cause havoc. We will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorized even by a single individual. NYPD is searching for the suspect at large, and we will find him. But we ask the public to come forward with any information."
A law enforcement source told CBS News that “authorities are investigating what appears to have been a planned attack.” There is no known motive, and if it is a planned attack, it’s unclear if it was terrorism or a criminal act, the source said.
An FBI official told WABC that it is assisting the NYPD in their investigation. The official said it’s unclear if there is a connection terrorism but that FBI headquarters is monitoring. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms and Explosives was also assisting the NYPD, according to CNN.
Video shows a massive police and FDNY response outside the station with helicopters overhead and large crowds of onlookers. Several schools in the area were sheltering place, the Department of Education said.
Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine said the DOE's shelter-in-place order impacts all schools within a 1-mile radius of 36th Street and Fourth Avenue in Brooklyn. “This means students may not leave their buildings, and there is enhanced screening for adults entering. This is not a full lockdown, in which no one would be able to leave or enter schools buildings,” he said.
President Joe Biden, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and other local and federal officials have all been briefed on the shooting.
"[Biden] has been briefed on the latest developments regarding the New York City subway shooting," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. "White House senior staff are in touch with Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Sewell to offer any assistance as needed."
The NYPD urged people to avoid the area at 36th Street and Fourth Avenue “due to an investigation.” It’s the location of the 36th Street station serving the D, N, Q, R and W lines.
“Expect emergency vehicles and delays in the surrounding area,” the NYPD tweeted.
The MTA said there were is no D/N/R service in Brooklyn and some stations in Manhattan and that riders should expect major delays on B/D/F N/Q/R trains.
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