Crime & Safety
Brooklyn Subway Attack Suspect Frank James To Be Held Without Bail
A judge placed James, 62, under a permanent order of detention until his trial on a federal terror charge.
NEW YORK CITY — Subway shooting suspect Frank James will be held without bail until his trial, a judge ordered during his arraignment on a federal terror charge Thursday.
James, 62, poses a "severe and ongoing danger to the community," prosecutors said during the arraignment in Brooklyn federal court. A judge granted their request to put him under a permanent order of detention.
James is accused of opening fire on a crowded Brooklyn train Tuesday morning — a bloody attack that shocked the city.
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In contrast to his rambling online persona, James himself said few words during the highly anticipated arraignment.
"Yes," he said, when asked if he understood a complaint detailing a terror charge filed against him.
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The court hearing came a day after his arrest and two days after a rush hour mass shooting that left 23 people injured.
James was captured Wednesday by authorities, who received at least one tip that he was in a McDonalds in the East Village.
Several New Yorkers have prominently taken credit for phoning in the tip, but some officials reportedly said James might have called the tip line himself.
Since his arrest, a growing mountain of details — namely including a 10-page federal complaint — reveal what authorities believe James did before, during and after the mass shooting.
After popping a smoke grenade and firing 33 shots into an N train car near 36th Street station, according to witness testimony and the complaint, James slipped onto an R train and got off at 25th Street, before entering the subway again in Park Slope — his last known location before his arrest the following day, according to authorities.
Law enforcement officials searching the Sunset Park subway after the attack found bags filled with fireworks, a gun and a container of gasoline, as well as a receipt for a storage unit — all linked to James, according to the complaint.
The unit, which James visited the night before the attack, was filled with ammunition — including that used in semi-automatic rifles — targets and gun parts, the complaint states.
As of Wednesday, police are still investigating whether James planned other attacks, James Essig, the NYPD's chief of detectives, said.
The FBI is also 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. People can provide tips by 1-800-CALL-FBI or fbi.gov/brooklynshooting, he said.
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