BAt least 16 people were injured in an incident involving gunfire and billowing smoke in the middle of the morning rush hour on Tuesday in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Ten of them suffered gunshot wounds, five are in critical but not life-threatening condition, the police and fire department said at a press conference a few hours after the incident.
Police Chief Keechant Sewell said a man suddenly donned a type of gas mask on an N-bound train to Manhattan just before the 36th Street station and then opened a canister that was pouring out fog or smoke. Then he opened fire. The man, who was wearing a kind of construction worker vest, was initially on the run.
The shooter was “dangerous,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said. Authorities urged all citizens to be “very careful and vigilant,” she said. Anyone with information should call the police.
“Not currently under investigation as an act of terrorism”
His motive was initially unclear, Sewell said. “This is currently not being investigated as a terrorist act.” However, the investigations have only been running for a few hours, the situation can still change, and nothing is ruled out. A fire brigade spokesman initially told the AFP news agency that several “unexploded” suspected explosive devices had been found on site. There are currently no active explosive devices on the New York subway.
Videos showed people pouring out of a subway car at the 36th Street station in the Sunset Park neighborhood surrounded by clouds of fog or smoke, some lying on the ground, blood was seen, others tended to the injured .
There were numerous delays and failures in the subway system. Schools in the area around the station are temporarily closed, US media quoted a spokesman for the New York school system as saying. Only school children are allowed in, but no one else and no one out. The Sunset Park neighborhood used to be primarily industrial, but today many young people and families also live and work there. A practice center for the Brooklyn Nets basketball team is also around the corner.
After the incident, the New York City Police Department increased their presence on public transit. New York Mayor Eric Adams said this to NY1 on Tuesday. He is coordinating this with all those responsible, as well as the ongoing search for the perpetrator, Adams said. “We will arrest the person responsible.”
Schumer: “I pray for all victims, their families, all those affected”
US President Joe Biden was immediately informed of the incident. During a visit to Menlo, Iowa, Biden thanked the first responders. “We are grateful for all first responders who took action, including civilians. Civilians who didn’t hesitate to help their fellow travelers and try to shield them.” And further: “My wife Jill and I are praying for the injured and everyone affected by this trauma.” His team is in contact with those responsible in New York, Biden said. The federal government stands ready to provide the New York authorities with any assistance they may need. Mayor Adams and Governor Kathy Hochul also said they would be kept informed of current events.
Chuck Schumer, the US Senate Majority Leader, wrote on Twitter that he was following the situation “in our beloved Brooklyn” very closely. “I pray for all victims, their families, all those affected,” he wrote. Schumer thanked the assistants for their quick action. The senator urged citizens to take good care of themselves. “To everyone in New York: Stay safe,” he wrote.
Numerous shootings and other crimes have made headlines in New York in recent months. Mayor Adams, a former police officer who took office earlier this year, had promised to crack down on it. Because of an infection with the corona virus, Adams had to monitor the information about the incident from his isolation.
“Ordinary New Yorkers woke up this morning expecting a relatively normal day,” Gov. Hochul said. This “feeling of calm and normality” was then brutally destroyed by a “cold-hearted” person. “Today is the day when we New Yorkers come together with the common goal to say: enough is enough!”
Only on Monday did US President Joe Biden introduce stricter rules for so-called ghost weapons that do not have serial numbers. Gun violence is commonplace in the United States, and attacks with many fatalities shake the country again and again. According to the Gun Violence Archive website, almost 21,000 people were killed by guns last year alone. If suicides are included, there were around 45,000 gun-related deaths.