Accused NY subway shooter expected to plead not guilty on terrorism, weapons charges

[May 13, 2022]  By Luc Cohen
 
NEW YORK (Reuters) - A man charged with last month's mass shooting in a New York subway, one of the most violent attacks in the history of the city's transit system, is expected to enter a not guilty plea in Brooklyn federal court on Friday. 

Frank James, the suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting, sits as he appears during his court hearing in New York City, New York, U.S., April 14, 2022 in this courtroom sketch. REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg

Frank James, 62, is scheduled to be arraigned at noon on charges related to the April 12 gunfire and smoke bomb attack that injured 23 people. His lawyer, Mia Eisner-Grynberg from the Federal Defenders of New York, did not respond to requests for comment.

Police said 10 people were shot in the attack, which unfolded as a Manhattan-bound N train was pulling into the 36th Street station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood during the morning commute. Thirteen others were injured in a frantic rush to flee the train. No one was killed.

The incident set off a round-the-clock manhunt that culminated in James' arrest some 30 hours later. After his arrest, Eisner-Grynberg said James saw his photograph in the news and then called the New York Police Department's tipline to turn himself in.

A motive for the attack remained unclear. Police say James, a Bronx native with recent addresses in Philadelphia and Milwaukee, posted videos on YouTube prior to the attack in which he addressed New York City Mayor Eric Adams and complained about the presence of homeless people on subway cars.

The attack followed a string of violent crimes in America's largest metropolitan transit system, including instances of commuters being pushed onto subway tracks from station platforms.

James could face life in prison if convicted on charges of carrying out a terrorist attack on a mass transit system and discharging a firearm during a violent crime.

(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Mark Porter)

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