Frank R. James was held without bail. on Thursday after prosecutors said he was a constant threat in commemoration of violent and deliberate attack on New York subway. His lawyers who said their client called a hotline to turn himself in, asked a federal judge ensure Mr James received psychiatric help in jail.
The brief first appearance of Mr. James in court marked new scene in case that shocked city already on edge about the subway crime. Straightaway, attack turned the morning train ride into a stage of chaos, injuring at least 30 people according to prosecutors. It was the bloodiest crime in New York public transit system in almost four decades, and many residents carefully waded back into a routine of pre-pandemic life.
For some the shooting stressed challenges facing Mayor Eric Adams who said high-profile crimes raised public anxiety over safety some of them highest levels in recent years — and that overcoming these fears is essential for the city’s recovery. On Thursday, prosecutors said that attack caused significant damage and destruction and that it could have ended in massacre.
They described each methodological step says Mr James, 62, took: from setting off smoke bomb on crowded subway car bring down a flurry of bullets and sweeps off disguise like him made his escape.
“The defendant terribly opened fire on passengers on crowded subway train, interrupting their morning ride in a way This city have not seen in more than 20 years,” said Sarah K. Vinick, Assistant U.S. Attorney. in court. “The defendant attack was intentional; it was carefully planned; and this caused terror among the victims and all of our city”.
Mr James who charged with carrier out terrorist attack on public transport system and faces up to life in prison if convicted, spoke little on Thursday, often answering questions from a federal judge with muffled “yes”. Since this was only his first appearance and he has not been charged, Mr. James has not yet entered into plea.
Outside the courthouse on Thursday, Mia Eisner-Greenberg one of his court-appointed lawyers said her client deserved a fair trial, warning that the “initial reports” of the police and news outputs “may be inaccurate”.
“We’re still learning about what happened on that train and we warn against rush to judge,” she said. “What are we doing know this: Mr. James saw his picture yesterday on in news. He called Crime Stoppers help. He told them where he was.
The court appearance came as local and state officials tried to convince passengers that public transport systems remain safe, emphasizing that city a life remains much less dangerous than it was decades ago and encourages New Yorkers to continue using the trains.
Passenger capacity of the metro, still below 60 percent of its pre-pandemic averages are the most of last month, fell in to attack immediately aftermath. But preliminary data on Wednesday gave hope. sign: The numbers were up about 75,000 clients over Tuesday – for about 3.1 million total. They were still under last weekly figures at about 159,000, i.e. possible indication of lingering worries.
However, it can be difficult to identify one cause of fluctuating passenger traffic, and lower numbers came on day with pleasant weatherwhen less people want travel underground.
“We are starting to see that passenger traffic back”, Janno Lieber, Chairman of This was reported by the metropolitan transport department. news conference on Thursday. “Even after an incredibly disturbing news that we’ve all seen this week.”
While general details of Tuesday morning attack have proven themselves well prosecutors did not describe a potential motive for violence. It remained unclear why a rail line passing through areas with a large number of immigrants in brooklyn, like Sunset Park a. home too much people from Asia and Latin America countries has become the target of brutal shooting.
But federal prosecutors wrote in their lawsuit on thursday that while mr james lengthy arrest record – almost a dozen minor offenses, including reckless endangerment, theft and trespassing – may seem “undistinguished”, this paints a “picture of a person with inclination for challenging authority and who is unable or unwilling to bring his conduct into conformity with the law.”
In their application prosecutors said Mr. James entered the subway system Tuesday morning in disguise, wearing a yellow hard hat and orange work jacket with reflective tape.
On a train approaching the 36th Street station. in Sunset Park, he shot ’bout 33 rounds in composure of frightened passengers who there was nowhere run and nowhere to hide”, federal prosecutors wrote.
Details about Mr. James’s life were still coming together: he worked at Amazon. for six months before it role ended around year back, according to a company spokesperson, who declined detail how or why.
Law enforcement agencies are checking hours of hints at his condition of notice what he suggested in disturbing videos posted for months on youtube channel and more social media Accounts.
The video depicts a troubled hermit, often frustrated by problems. of race, current events and global affairs matters on which he often delivered extended tirades. They are also showed a man who could sometimes get carried away with violent ideas, once offering viewers instructions for preparation of the Molotov cocktail, according to the federal prosecutors.
At least once he thought about mayhem in New York subway system. Another times, he asked if Mr. Adams could prevent breaking the law there. “He can’t stop no crime in there is no subway,” Mr. James said. “He can slow down, but he doesn’t stop.
federal prosecutors requested on Thursday that Mr. James be detained pending trial, arguing that his “mere presence outside federal detention is a serious risk of danger to community”.
After the shooting, the police found ammunition and other weapons in storage room and apartment rented by Mr. James, prosecutors marked. Authorities also restored the array of items from the train, including a 9mm Glock pistol, three ammo magazines, and credit card with Mr. James name on This is.
Among the collection was key into the U-Haul van he rented, which investigators later found about five miles from the station with propane tank inside prosecutors said.
Eventually Mr. James was captured by the authorities. on Wednesday afternoon at McDonald’s in East Village, circa 29 hours in a vast hunt that featured several federal and state agencies and hundreds of officers.
On Thursday, lawyers for Mr James said they had no objection to his detention but asked the magistrate ensure that he underwent psychiatric evaluation and other medical care at the Brooklyn Metropolitan Detention Center, about seven blocks from the train station. in Sunset Park where attack took place.
Michael Gold, Sean Piccoli and Ashley Southall made a report.
