Shooting in the Brooklyn subway: at least 29 injured, including 10 by gunshot

New York City police say they are looking for a person of interest who rented a van which she believes may be linked to the event, although she has not made a definitive connection.

Chief of Detectives James Essig said the key to the van was found along with a semi-automatic handgun, a hatchet, smoke grenades and other items at the scene.

Police have since found the van, empty. She says the person of interest is a man with addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin.

horror scene

A horror scene unfolded at a Brooklyn station, as frightened travelers ran off the train and others limped out of cars. At least one passenger has collapsed on the platform.

The door of my subway car opened on the calamity. There was smoke and blood, people were screaming, eyewitness Sam Carcamo told radio station 1010 WINS. He claimed to have seen a gigantic wave of smoke escaping from the N train once the door was opened.

Five people were in critical condition but are expected to survive. At least 29 people in all were treated in hospitals for gunshot wounds, smoke inhalation or other problems.

The gunshots erupted from a subway train that stopped at a station in the Sunset Park neighborhood, about 15 minutes from Manhattan.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the attack was not being treated by investigators as a terrorist attack, without exclude nothing Nevertheless. The shooter has not been identified and his motive is unknown at this time.

Authorities gave officers a photo they believed depicted the shooter and the Arizona license plate number of a U-Haul van to look out for, two law enforcement officials said. In the early evening, police found an unoccupied U-Haul van in Brooklyn, one of the officials said.

The discovery of a vehicle key at the scene of the shooting allowed investigators to trace a van from American rental company U-Haul, recently rented and abandoned in Brooklyn.

Photo : Associated Press / John Minchillo

Police were cordoning off a street about four miles from the scene of the shooting and evacuating nearby businesses while waiting for a bomb squad and the highly specialized emergency services unit.

Investigators found a credit card at the scene of the shooting, which led them to identify a person of interest, one of the officials said, adding that the credit card was used to rent the U van -Haul that the police located in Brooklyn. The two officials were not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Investigators believe the weapon jammed, which prevented the suspect from continuing to fire, officials said.

Subway operator video shows smoke and passengers getting out of a car. Moans erupt as passengers run for an exit and others limp out of cars. One of them falls on the platform and a person shouts: Someone call 911!.

In other videos and photos taken by travelers, passengers are seen caring for people lying on the subway platform amid what appear to be small pools of blood. Inside a subway car, a person is lying on the ground.

A smoke bomb in the car

According to several police sources with knowledge of the investigation, preliminary information indicates that the suspect, who fled, was a man wearing a construction vest and a gas mask.

Investigators currently believe the shooter deployed a smoke bomb before opening fire, one of the police officials said. Investigators are examining whether he may have used the device to distract people before shooting, the official said.

Firefighters and police were investigating reports that there had been an explosion, but Commissioner Keechant Sewell told a press conference midday on Tuesday that there was no sign of an explosive device so far. Several smoke devices were however found on the scene, said a spokesperson for the mayor.

A man helps someone to stand on the subway platform.  The wounded are lying on the ground.  Passers-by are around.

This photo provided by a metro user gives an idea of ​​the disorder reigning in the station at the time of the shooting.

Photo : Associated Press / Will B. Wylde

Juliana Fonda, who works at radio station WNYC-FM, told her Gothamist news site that she was on that train when passengers in the car behind her started knocking on the door between the two cars .

There were a lot of very loud noises, and there was smoke in the other car, she said. And people were trying to get in and they couldn’t, they were knocking on the door to get into our car.

Crime wave

New York City has faced a string of high-profile shootings and incidents in recent months, including on the subway. One of the most shocking took place in January and involved a woman who died after being pushed in front of a train by a stranger.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, has made cracking down on crime — especially on the subway — one of the goals of his administration, which began just over 100 days ago. In particular, he undertook to deploy more police to patrol metro stations and platforms.

It is not yet known whether police were already at the station when the shooting broke out on Tuesday morning.

We will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorized by even one individual, Mayor Adams said in a recorded video message from the office residence, where he is in self-isolation after testing positive for COVID-19, on Sunday. He did not provide any additional details.

No metro employee was physically injured, according to a statement from the union.

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