Arrested: Brooklyn Subway Shooting Suspect Caught In East Village

NEW YORK, NY — Brooklyn subway shooting suspect Frank James was arrested Wednesday and faces a federal terror charge, officials said.

"We got him," Mayor Eric Adams announced during a news conference.

James, 62, was the subject of a massive manhunt following Tuesday's rush hour mass shooting in a Sunset Park subway station that left 23 people injured, authorities said.

Adams referenced the number of gunshots James is accused of firing on an N train that rolled into 36th Street Station in Sunset Park.

“Thirty-three shots, but less than 30 hours later we’re able to say we got him,” he said.

The arrest followed a Crimestoppers tipster who said they spotted James in an East Village McDonald’s, NYPD officials said. When patrol cops arrived, James wasn’t at the restaurant but he was soon seen and arrested at St Mark's Place and First Avenue, said NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.

“He will be charged with committing yesterday’s appalling crime in Brooklyn,” she said.

James won’t face a normal criminal charge — he’ll be prosecuted in federal court under a statute normally reserved for terrorists, said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace.

Peace said James faces a federal criminal charge that prohibits terrorist and other violent attacks against mass transportation systems.

"He will face a sentence of up to life in prison,” he said.

NYPD and law enforcement officials also gave more information on the Tuesday morning attack itself and what they believe James did before, during and after the shooting.

James has nine past arrests, most of which were in New York City, said James Essig, the NYPD’s chief of detectives. Those included four on a possession of burglary charge and two on a criminal sex act accusation, he said.

But James is not a felon, which allowed him to buy a GLOCK 9mm handgun in Ohio during 2011, authorities said. That gun was found at the shooting scene, Essig said.

Police are still investigating whether James planned other attacks, Essig said.

The FBI is seeking the public’s help on its investigation into James, said Michael Driscoll, assistant director in charge of the bureau’s New York field office. They can provide tips by 1-800-CALL-FBI or fbi.gov/brooklynshooting, he said.

Driscoll also referenced — and dismissed — reports that FBI agents had been tracking James before the attacks.

“I want to be very clear that, to date, we have found no record any investigation of Frank R. James by an FBI office before the shooting yesterday,” he said. “Reports that FBI’s New Mexico field office previously investigated him are inaccurate.”

For the subway attack itself, investigators found video of James entering the Kings Highway subway station, Essig said.

“This station is three blocks from where we recovered the U-Haul truck that he rented in Philadelphia,” he said. “The key to that truck was recovered at the crime scene.”

A witness on the N train told police that James popped a smoke grenade as they sat next to him, Essig said. The witness then asked what James did.

“[James] goes, ‘Oops,’ and then he pops the two [grenade], brandishes the firearm and fires 33 times,” Essig said.

Amid the chaotic, smoky and bloody scene on the N platform, James slipped onto an R train and traveled up to the 25th Street Station in Greenwood Heights, where he walked out, Essig said. Police then have evidence James entered a subway station at Seventh Avenue and Ninth Street in Park Slope, he said.

That station was James’ last known location until the tipster spotted him Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan, officials said.

As news of the arrest spread on social media, local officials reacted with gratitude and appreciation.

“Congratulations to @NYCMayor and the @NYPD on the arrest of the suspect in the subway attack,” tweeted former Mayor Bill de Blasio.

“New Yorkers should be proud of the Mayor, our first responders and the passengers who came to the aid of the wounded,” de Blasio added.

City Council Member, and former Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer echoed a similar sentiment.

“Very relieved to hear the search for Frank James has concluded and that he will face justice for his heinous act. I am grateful to the brave members of the NYPD and our first responders for their service to the city and for apprehending this individual,” she said.

That sense of relief was also felt in the World’s Borough.

“What a relief. Thank you to the @NYPDnews for its persistence in following every lead and all our first responders for their heroism amidst the chaos,” said Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

“To all those who were injured and terrorized yesterday in Sunset Park, you deserve justice in every sense of the word,” he added, echoing his earlier sentiments on the attack.

Related Coverage:

Brooklyn Subway Shooting Suspect: What To Know About Frank James

'I Kept My Eyes Open': Commuters Return To Sunset Park Subway Station