“We got him”: Suspect caught after shooting in New York subway

The perpetrator had detonated smoke bombs and then shot around. At least 23 people were injured in the New York subway on Tuesday morning. Now the search may have been successful: a 62-year-old was caught on Wednesday. The suspect is due to appear before a judge this Thursday.

“My fellow New Yorkers, we have him,” said Mayor Eric Adams, who was connected via video from isolation because of a corona infection, at a press conference. “We were able to shrink his world quickly,” added Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell. “He had nowhere else to run to.”

The suspect is a man who was born in New York and recently lived in Philadelphia and Wisconsin, who had previously been arrested several times for other offenses. The 62-year-old should be charged with a “terrorist or other violent attack” on local public transport, the authorities said. If convicted, the man faces life imprisonment.

Background still unclear

According to initial investigation results, he acted alone. However, the background is still unclear. Investigators suspect that several posts on social media come from the man. In it he complained, among other things, about New York, Mayor Adams and homelessness. Adams’ police protection was therefore initially increased as a precaution.

33 pistol shots

Ten people sustained gunshot wounds in the incident on an N subway in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood. 13 others suffered from smoke inhalation or were injured while trying to escape. According to the authorities, no one is in danger of death. According to the police, the man fired a total of 33 shots with a pistol. Investigators also found other pistol magazines and an ax at the scene.

After the crime, the man initially fled on another subway. Authorities tracked him down because he had rented a pickup truck, the keys of which were found at the scene. With great effort, the police searched for the man, who was first listed as a “person of interest” and then as an official suspect. On Wednesday, the emergency services then got a tip that he was in the East Village in southeast Manhattan. The police found him there.

According to US media reports, the suspect also called the police himself. He did not resist when he was arrested. A reward of $50,000 (around €46,000) had previously been offered for information leading to the arrest of the suspect.

The head of the New York transport company, Janno Lieber, thanked the police for their efforts. “Subway riders and all New Yorkers will be able to sleep a little better today.”

AR/ie (dpa, afp)