Brooklyn Subway Shooting: Federal documents describe Frank James's connection to Philadelphia
Brooklyn Subway Shooting: Federal documents describe Frank James's connection to Philadelphia
According to federal documents, agents raided Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James's temporary apartment and storage unit in Philadelphia, and found ammo for a .9mm and AR-15, a taser, a high-capacity magazine and a blue smoke canister. James is facing a federal charge related to terrorism and violent acts committed against mass transit, according to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace.
PHILADELPHIA - Hours before accused Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James was taken into custody, neighbors in a Philadelphia community who said they recognized the man being hunted by police were awoken by an FBI raid.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation confirmed to FOX 29 that law enforcement agents were at a home on the 1800 block of West Ontario Street for "court corded activity." They did not say if the raid was connected to the Tuesday's subway shooting in Brooklyn that left dozens hurt.
Cell phone video shot from a property across the street shows agents with guns drawn piling into a Nicetown residence. Neighbors said they recognized the suspect, Frank James, after seeing his picture on the news.
James, 62, was originally referred to as a person of interest in the hours after police say a person with a gas mask detonated two smoke grenades aboard a Brooklyn subway train and opened fire.
NYPD Chief James Essig said keys to a U-Haul van found at the scene with the suspect's belongings lead investigators to the renter. The U-Haul, which authorities said was rented by James in Philadelphia, was recovered Tuesday afternoon.
Essig told reporters Tuesday night that James has addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin. According to federal documents, agents raided James's temporary apartment and storage unit in Philadelphia, and found ammo for a .9mm and AR-15, a taser, a high-capacity magazine and a blue smoke canister.
The documents say that James took a Lyft to the Philadelphia storage facility around 6:15 Monday. He reserved and paid for a U-Haul van a week in advance and picked it up on Monday, according to federal documents.
Investigators say surveillance cameras captured Jame's U-Haul crossing the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn just after 4 a.m. Tuesday. Two hours later, surveillance cameras show a man in a yellow hard hat and orange reflective jacket exit the U-Haul just two blocks from the Sunset Park station.
At about 8:24 a.m., a person wearing a gas mask pulled a canister out of a bag while aboard a northbound N train as it approached the 36th Street station, Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said during a briefing at the scene. The gunman then opened fire while still aboard the smoke-filled train and continued firing as it pulled into the station.
The shooting left dozens hurt and at least 10 injured by gunfire, police said. The shooter fled the chaotic scene, which sparked a massive manhunt the lead investigators to James.
After a 30-hour search, James was arrested without incident after a tipster — thought by police to be James himself — said he could be found near a McDonald’s on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.
James is facing a federal charge related to terrorism and violent acts committed against mass transit, according to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace. If convicted, James could face a life sentence in a federal prison.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
RELATED COVERAGE
- Brooklyn subway attack: Suspect Frank James arrested, charged with terror
- Brooklyn Subway Shooting: Philadelphia police monitoring SEPTA, passengers urged to 'stay vigilant'
- Brooklyn subway shooting: Update on victims including several children
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