Gunman identified after at least 29 injured in mass shooting at Subway station in Brooklyn, New York

Police have identified the man they say let off smoke canisters and began shooting commuters in a terrifying attack on a New York Subway train.

Police in New York have identified the man they say carried out a “depraved” mass shooting on the city’s underground system that injured at least 29 people during their morning commute.

A massive police manhunt is underway for Frank James, 62, who is being sought for questioning after the shock attack on the Subway train travelling from Brooklyn to Manhattan on Tuesday morning.

The seemingly well planned incident saw the gunman put on a gas mask and let off a smoke canister in a crowded train carriage before shooting passengers. At least 29 people were injured, 10 with gunshot wounds.

James had reportedly railed against New York mayor Eric Adams and made bizarre threatening rants on YouTube before the attack, the New York Post reported.

Police named Frank James as a person of interest in the Subway shooting. Picture: New York Police Department

“Mr Mayor, I’m a victim of your mental health program,” James said in one lengthy video, according to The Post.

“I’m 63 now, full of hate, full of anger, and full of bitterness.”

He also criticised the mayor for not doing more to combat homelessness in the city.

“Eric Adams, Eric Adams: What are you doing brother? What’s happening with this homeless situation?” he said, while referring to the subway.

“Every car I went to was loaded with homeless people. It was so bad I couldn’t even stand. I had to keep moving from car to car.”

The NYPD said they were increasing security for Mr Adams after police discovered the videos.

Multiple people shot at a Subway station in Brooklyn. Source: Facebook

James said in the videos that he had a diagnosed mental illness and railed against what he called the “horror show” of the city’s mental health services.

“What’s going on in that place is violence,” he said about a facility he claimed to receive care from.

“Not physical violence,” he explained, “but the kind of violence a child experiences in grade school … that would make him go get a gun and shooting motherf***ers.”

Earlier, police said they have not yet ruled out terrorism as a possible motive behind the attack.

Weapon jammed during terrifying attack

The weapon used by the gunman jammed in the midst of his attack, law enforcement sources told the New York Post.

“It was lucky that it jammed because we could be talking about a lot more people in hospitals or worse,” one source said.

A bag of concerning items was also recovered at the scene on Tuesday, with a photo obtained by the outlet showing smoke bombs, “seismic wave” cracker fireworks and a 25-shot firework bundle all thrown together inside the bag.

The bag full of fireworks was found at the scene. Picture: The Post

None of the items appeared to be fused together or set to detonate.

Graphic photos from the scene show people lying on the platforms at 36th Street station in Brooklyn with pools of blood around them and smoke filling the station.

One video shows commuters, some screaming, streaming from the carriage where the shooting took place. A number of the passengers appear to have injuries and collapsed onto the platform.

US President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation.

‘Depraved’ attacker

New York State governor Kathy Hochul said there was an “active shooter situation” in the city as the culprit was yet to be caught.

“This morning, ordinary New Yorkers woke up in the anticipation of a relatively normal day.

“That sense of normalcy was brutally disrupted by an individual so depraved of heart that they had no care about the individuals assaulted,” Governor Hochul said at a press conference by the Subway stop on Tuesday afternoon.

@POTUS has been briefed on the latest developments regarding the New York City subway shooting. White House senior staff are in touch with Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Sewell to offer any assistance as needed.

— Jen Psaki (@PressSec) April 12, 2022

Members of the New York Police Department patrol the streets outside the 36th Street station where the attack occurred. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY / AFP)

How Subway attack unfolded

New York City police commissioner Keechant Sewell said the incident unfolded at 8.24am NY time (10.24pm AEST) as an N line train waited to enter 36th Street station in the suburb of Sunset Park.

“An individual on that train donned what would appear to be a gas mask. He then took a canister out of his bag and opened it. The train at that time began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the Subway train and on the platform.”

The suspect is described as being around 1.7 metres tall, black and wearing a green construction type vest and hooded sweatshirt. His clothing led some to believe he deliberately dressed either as a construction worker or a Subway staff member.

There had earlier been reports of explosives on the train but police have said there were no known such devices on the system.

Very dramatic video from the incident as the subway arrived at 36th St Sunset Park in Brooklyn. #brooklyn#shooting#nycpic.twitter.com/5cOdeYPIb1

— Kristoffer Kumm (@Kristofferkumm) April 12, 2022

New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell speaks during a press conference in New York City after at least 16 people were injured during a rush-hour shooting at a subway station in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Picture: Angela Weiss / AFP

Terrorism ‘not ruled out’

At a press conference, Commissioner Sewell initially said the incident was not being investigated as terrorism. But when pressed by reporters about how confident police could be that the attack wasn’t terrorist related, given the perpetrator was at large, she added that the force was not “ruling anything out”.

New York Mayor Eric Adams, who was not at the scene as he is isolating after contracting Covid-19, said the suspect detonated smoke bombs to create havoc.

“We will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorised even by a single individual,” he said.

The New York Fire Department said of the 16 people injured 10 had gunshot wounds with the remainder suffering from smoke inhalation, shrapnel wounds or panic.

None of the injuries were said to be life threatening but authorities cautioned that at that time the incident had only just occurred.

A huge emergency services presence at the incident site in Brooklyn. Picture: Angela Weiss / AFP

The N Subway line operates from the famous Coney Island amusement park in Brooklyn through the borough’s downtown area and then onto Queens via Manhattan’s Times Square.

A passenger waiting on a train at the platform told the New York Post that she saw a man “drop some kind of cylinder that sparked at the top”.

The woman, called Clair, said she “lost count” of the number of rounds she heard ringing out as the man opened fire.

Yav Montano was on a train pulling into the station when pandemonium broke out.

He told CNN he heard “what I thought was fireworks, but now hearing it was gunshots I’m thankful I hid behind one of the chairs”.

He described the horrific scenes after disembarking the train.

“There was blood on the floor. There was a lot of blood trailing on the floor. And at the time in the moment, I did not think it was a shooting because it sounded like fireworks,” he said.

“All I saw was people trampling each other, trampling over each other, trying to get into the door which was locked and just a lot of panic, but thankfully, the train moved quickly to the next stop and everyone filed off the train in a rush.”

The NYPD told people to avoid the area between 36th Street and 4th Ave in Brooklyn.

There are growing concerns about rising crime rates in New York which Mayor Adams has pledged to tackle.

Since the beginning of 2022, there have been 375 crimes on public transport, a rise of 73 per cent compared to 2021 and a 41 per cent rise in major crimes, reported CNN.