James has been charged in federal court with violating a law banning terrorist and other violent attacks on the mass transportation system, said Breon Peace, the U.S. Attorney General for New York’s Eastern District. If convicted, he could spend his life in prison, Pease said.
The New York City Police Commissioner said investigators had used all available tools to gather evidence that “directly links Mr James to the shooting.”
“We managed to shrink his world quickly. There was nowhere to run, “Police Commissioner Kichant Sewell told a news conference Wednesday afternoon announcing James’ arrest.
The timing of James’ appearance in federal court will be confirmed on Thursday morning, according to US Attorney General John Marzuli.
James was declared a “person of interest” by the New York Police Department after his belongings, including a U-Haul key he rented, were found at the scene, authorities said. He was declared a suspect in Wednesday’s shooting, and the city issued an emergency signal to residents, saying James was “wanted” and wanted tips.
The 62-year-old man called the Crime Stoppers police hotline on Wednesday to tell authorities he was at McDonald’s in lower Manhattan, CNN was told. The call ended a few minutes later and was followed by a 911 call from another person who said they had spotted James, one of the two sources told CNN. Police responded to McDonald’s and did not find James, CNN sources said, but shortly afterwards, officers came across a random person who pointed them out to James, a senior law enforcement source said. He was arrested without incident.
“Like all New Yorkers, I am deeply grateful that the suspect in yesterday’s subway shooting was captured and thanked law enforcement and every first responder whose heroic efforts helped New York respond to this horrific incident,” the New York governor said. Katie Wanted Wednesday. “My heart is with all the wounded, with their loved ones and with the whole Sunset Park community.”
CNN turned to James’ federal attorney for comment.
The shooting started on the way to the station
The shooting – which began on a subway train as it approached 36th Street Station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood on Tuesday morning – left at least 29 people with injuries ranging from gunshot wounds to inhaling smoke. Five remained in hospital Wednesday night.
The gunman shot at least 33 times and hit 10 people, according to NYPD chief of detectives James Essig. Authorities said none of the injuries were life-threatening.
James initially boarded Train N on the Kings Highway subway around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Esig said.
Hurari Bencada, 27, who was shot in the back of the knee, said he boarded the last car of train N and sat next to a man with a luggage bag who appeared to be wearing an MTA public transport vest. The man dropped a “smoke bomb”, he said, and the passengers tried to escape when the man started firing.
The shooting began about 20 seconds after the train left 59th Street and felt as if it had lasted nearly two minutes, Bencada said.
After allegedly firing on the train, James got off at 36th Street Station, boarded Train R across the platform and went to a stop at 25th Street Station, Esig said.
Less than an hour later, he was spotted taking the subway at 7th Avenue and 9th Street, about 2.5 miles away, Esig added.
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Evidence points investigators to James, officials say
Evidence found by investigators led them to suspect James of the shooting, police said Wednesday.
Authorities at the scene found a Glock 9mm pistol, three extended cartridges, two detonated smoke grenades, two unexploded smoke grenades, an ax and U-Haul van keys, Esig said.
The gun found at the scene was purchased by James in Ohio in 2011, according to Esig. A credit card used to rent U-Haul was also found, two law enforcement sources told CNN. Two officers told CNN they believed the gun was stuck during the shooting.
The U-Haul van was hired by James, police said, and was found by police near Kings Highway after being cleared by the NYPD bombing squad.
The surveillance video shows James leaving the van on Tuesday morning, according to a criminal complaint.
The neon construction jacket that was dumped on the subway platform had a Philadelphia warehouse receipt registered to James, the complaint said.
Federal prosecutors say he visited a warehouse full of ammunition and more weapons the night before Tuesday’s attack, according to court documents. A search of the warehouse revealed additional ammunition and “a whole 9 mm threaded pistol that allows a silencer or suppression mechanism to be attached.”
According to the complaint, law enforcement officers have complied with a search warrant for an apartment in Philadelphia, authorities believe James was hired for 15 days, starting around March 28, and found “an empty Glock pistol magazine, stun gun, high-capacity rifle magazine and blue smoke.” tuba. “
Investigators found no other weapons or explosives in the van, two law enforcement officials said. Officials said it appears James may have slept in the vehicle. They said a license plate reader spotted a van traveling on the Verrazano Bridge from Staten Island to Brooklyn around 4 a.m. Tuesday.
Authorities have also tracked the purchase of a gas mask for James through an eBay account, two officials said.
The motive has not yet been determined, officials said. James is also linked to a number of cluttered videos posted on a YouTube channel, including racist and misogynistic language, and he has documented his trip from Wisconsin to the Northeast in a series of videos in recent weeks.
CNN’s Sonia Moge, Eric Levenson, Travis Caldwell, Rob Frase, Paul P. Murphy, Chris Hypenstyle, Claire Duffy, Richard Davis, Sharif Paget, Carol Alvarado, Nicole Chavez, Alaa Elasar, Amir Vera, Jason Niaki Hanna Pomrenze, Elizabeth Wolfe and Chris Boyet contributed to this report.
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