Who is Frank Robert James? Facts About New York Subway Shooter

Who is Frank Robert James? Wikipedia, Biography, Age, Wife, Net worth

Frank Robert James is a 62 year old American man who is accused of shooting down about 10 people in a Brooklyn Subway station. He was arrested and charged on April 13, 2022 for his crimes.

On YouTube, James expressed racist and disparaging opinions, complained about homeless people on the train, and criticized Mayor Eric Adams’ policies.

After eluding capture for more than 24 hours in a city packed with cops, Frank Robert James, the man suspected of killing at least ten people at a Brooklyn subway station, was apprehended and charged on Wednesday.

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said, “”Literally hundreds of NYPD detectives worked doggedly during the last 30 hours to bring this together,.” “I hope this arrest brings some solace to the victims and the people of the city of New York.”

After receiving a Crime Stoppers report, James, a 62-year-old Black male, was detained in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood. He is charged with terrorism on public transportation, which carries a maximum sentence of life in jail.

“The “The government will prove, among other things, that James traveled across a state line in order to commit the offense, and transported materials across the state line in aid of the commission of the offense,” US Attorney Breon Peace said.

Passersby immediately identified Zack Tahhan, a Syrian man who emigrated to the United States five years ago, as the individual who reported James after his arrest in the East Village. Tahhan, who works for a security system company, told reporters that he saw James on a surveillance camera and alerted authorities to his whereabouts.

Tahhan was taken away for questioning by police, who did not confirm if he was the individual who gave the tip concerning James.

During the tail end of morning rush hour on Tuesday, a man wearing a gas mask launched gas canisters inside a subway car of a Manhattan-bound N train, then opened fire on commuters, injuring more than 20 people. Ten persons were injured by gunshots. On social media, footage showed panicked riders fleeing the train in a hurry, with some collapsing to the ground and leaving blood streaks on the Sunset Park subway station platform. Governor Kathy Hochul said five victims, aged 18 and under, were on their way to school when the incident occurred.

Officials said on Wednesday that they are still trying to figure out what motivated the attack. James Essig, the NYPD’s chief of detectives, said they suspect James boarded a R train that arrived at the Sunset Park station and exited one stop up after firing 33 shots at riders.

The attack shocked New Yorkers, and a pall of fear remained over the city for the next 24 hours as police searched for the perpetrator.

On Tuesday night, police discovered a U-Haul van linked to the suspect and named James a person of interest in the case. Authorities stated James was a suspect on Wednesday morning and offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest.

It’s unclear how the suspect managed to flee the scene in a subway system — and a city — surrounded by cops. Commuters fled out of a smoke-filled train car in panic as it came into the station, according to recordings and eyewitness testimony. Many others dashed for a R train that was just across the platform, most likely the same one that James had boarded, according to authorities.

The keys to the U-Haul van, as well as a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun, three extended Glock-type magazines, a hatchet, bullets and gunshot fragments, two exploded and two undetonated smoke grenades, gasoline, and fireworks, were discovered at the scene of the shooting. James bought the gun located at the crime scene in Ohio in 2011, according to Essig.

Three blocks from where the U-Haul van was discovered, police retrieved video showed James entering the Kings Highway subway station.

James, according to Essig, is well-known in the community and has ties to Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York City. From 1992 to 1998, he was arrested nine times in New York, and three times in New Jersey, in 1991, 1992, and 2007.

A screenshot from a YouTube video from “prophetoftruth88,” an account that looked to belong to James, was among the photographs of James given by the NYPD on Tuesday.

Hundreds of videos were posted to his YouTube page, many of which were long rants in which he voiced racist and disparaging beliefs, including against Black people and other people of color. He also complained about homeless individuals on the New York City subway and chastised Adams’ actions, calling 9/11 “the most wonderful day in the history of this country” in one video.

James allegedly mentioned conspiracy theories and threatened violence, according to the US Attorney’s office. “And so the message to me is: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting motherfuckers,” he stated in one video, according to the US Attorney’s office.

Authorities were aware of “concerning” social media posts that may be linked to James, Sewell said Tuesday, and the mayor’s security detail would be beefed up “out of an abundance of caution.”

When questioned why the suspect hadn’t been captured yet in an interview with WNYC on Wednesday morning before the arrest, Adams skirted the topic by praising law enforcement’s cooperation and work in identifying the U-Haul van and James’ social media profiles.

“With the paucity of knowledge we had, this is actually an astounding turnaround,” he said.

About 36,000 police officers work in New York City, with about 3,500 assigned to the NYPD’s transportation bureau, according to AM New York in January. According to the New York Times, no officers were present at the Sunset Park station at the time of the shooting, despite the fact that officers had been patrolling the station earlier that morning.

Authorities also disclosed that the security camera at the Sunset Park station was broken, raising concerns about the metro system’s security. The subway system in New York City is equipped with a huge network of surveillance cameras, with the Metropolitan Transit Authority announcing in September that cameras had been placed at all 472 subway stations.

“Your image will be collected and you will be put on the fast road to punishment if you are a criminal who preys on individuals who use our system. The image will be given to the cops, who will use it to track you down “At the time, MTA Chief Safety Officer Patrick Warren remarked.

On Wednesday, MTA CEO Janno Lieber told CBS News that the station’s damaged camera was caused by a possible server issue. “There are images of this fellow that are going to be found,” Lieber said, adding that there is “an vast range of video” from other stations on that specific subway line.

The subway security cameras are not under the supervision of the NYPD or the mayor’s office, according to Adams.

“It’s in the hands of the government. The MTA is in charge of the camera system “‘I told WNYC,’ he said. “They’re helping us figure out what happened at the railway station by working with us. We don’t have a complete understanding of it right now, but the MTA is in charge of it.”

Facts About New York Subway Shooter Frank Robert James

• Frank Robert James, 62, was apprehended on a Manhattan street and charged with a mass transit attack in federal court. If convicted, he might spend the rest of his life in prison, according to officials.
• New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Ohio are all places where James has ties. According to investigators, he has addresses in Wisconsin and Philadelphia. According to the New York Police Department, he has nine past arrests in New York and three in New Jersey.
• James, who was born in the Bronx area of New York City in 1959, has moved around a lot throughout his life, according to his sister, who told the New York Times. She also stated that the last time she spoke with James was after their younger sister died of a heart attack years ago.
• At the crime site in Brooklyn, the suspect left keys to a leased U-Haul van and a credit card with his name on it. According to authorities, he leased the van in Philadelphia and parked it on a street near the 36th Street station where the incident occurred.
• The gunman fired 33 shots from a Glock 9 mm semi-automatic handgun that James purchased in 2011, according to officials. The rifle, along with three extended-ammunition magazines, a hatchet, some consumer-grade fireworks, and a jug of gasoline, was subsequently discovered, according to authorities.
• According to a statement, a guy named Frank James purchased pyrotechnics from Phantom Fireworks Showroom in Caledonia, Wisconsin, which is located south of Milwaukee. According to the shop founder, the precise combination of pyrotechnics purchased there was discovered at the scene.
• On Wednesday, YouTube took down an account that was thought to belong to James.