A man who unleashed gunfire inside a New York City subway train and then disappeared into the panicked crowd is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for the morning rush-hour attack that injured 10 people and triggered a citywide manhunt.
Frank James, aged 64, entered a guilty plea to terrorism charges in the mass shooting that occurred on April 12, 2022, aboard a Manhattan-bound train.
Prosecutors are seeking a life sentence, asserting that James meticulously planned the shooting to cause "maximum damage." Meanwhile, the gunman's legal team is requesting a reduced sentence of 18 years, contending that James didn't intend to kill anyone and struggled with severe mental illness.
Disguised as a construction worker, James waited for the train to be between stations, preventing his targets from escaping. He then set off multiple smoke bombs and fired a barrage of bullets from a 9mm handgun at terrified passengers in the crowded subway car.
The attack left victims ranging from 16 to 60 years old injured as the train pulled into a Sunset Park, Brooklyn, station. Afterward, James calmly exited the subway station and vanished, leading to a 30-hour manhunt. Police swiftly identified James as a suspect using a key to a rented moving van left behind in the bloody subway car. He was eventually apprehended in Manhattan's East Village after calling a police tip line to surrender.
Brooklyn prosecutors noted in a memo to U.S. District Judge William Kuntz that "the fact that no one was killed by the defendant's 32 gunshots can only be described as luck as opposed to the defendant's intentional choice."
The attack shocked New Yorkers, heightened concerns about transit system safety, and prompted the addition of more surveillance cameras and police on trains.
Prior to the shooting, James, who is Black, posted numerous videos online using the alias "Prophet of Doom," discussing race, violence, his mental health struggles, and unnamed forces he believed were targeting him. In a 2019 video, he vaguely referred to a pending conflict in New York, which prosecutors allege was part of his plan to carry out the subway shooting.
When James pleaded guilty to terrorism charges earlier this year, he claimed his intention was to cause serious bodily injury, not death. His attorney, Mia Eisne-Grynberg, argued that James likely changed his mind in the heat of the moment, given the prevalence of mass shooters who successfully kill their victims.
Citing James's troubled upbringing in the Bronx, his battles with alcoholism, and paranoid schizophrenia, Eisner-Grynberg emphasized, "Mr. James is not evil. He is very, very ill."
However, prosecutors contended that the trajectory of the bullets indicated James aimed at riders' "center mass" for maximum lethality and that he only ceased firing when his semi-automatic Glock pistol jammed.
James has been held at the Metropolitan Detention Center for the past 17 months without bail. He had previously refused to leave his cell for court appearances, prompting Judge Kuntz to authorize the use of necessary force by U.S. Marshals to ensure his presence at the sentencing.
In another news, a man who authorities say sexually assaulted and killed a 20-year-old woman three decades ago has been identified. See detailed story here
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