NEW YORK (AP) – The man accused of opening fire on subway passengers on a Brooklyn train was ordered to be held without bail on Thursday during his first court appearance, where prosecutors told a judge he was terrorizing all of New York.
Admitted to a federal court in Brooklyn without handcuffs, a restrained Frank James, 62, gently answered formal questions about whether he understood the allegations and the purpose of the brief hearing. His lawyer later asked the public not to prejudge him.
James was arrested in Manhattan after calling police to say where he was on Wednesday, a day after a nightmare that left 10 people with gunshot wounds and countless others fearing for their safety on the country’s busiest subway.
Authorities say he detonated smoke bombs and dozens of bullets on a train full of morning passengers. He is charged with federal felony criminal mischief for attacking public transport systems – authorities say there is currently no evidence linking him to terrorist organizations and they are still trying to motivate him.
“The accused opened fire on passengers on a crowded subway train, disrupting their morning commute in a way the city has not seen for more than 20 years,” said Assistant Attorney General Sara K. Winik. “The accused’s attack was premeditated, carefully planned and caused terror to the victims and to our entire city.”
While James was in court, Hurari Benkada was in a hospital bed with a bullet wound to the leg.
Bencanda said he was just a few feet away from the gunman on the train and has had difficulty sleeping since. The horrible scene of Tuesday is repeated in his mind.
“I’m still shocked by this,” Benkanda said in a video interview on Thursday, grimacing in pain as he remembered the attack.
He was wearing headphones, music was playing, as smoke began to fill the subway car. At first he thought it was a small fire. But the smoke “continued to escalate into black, black smoke like 9/11,” he said, “and the whole train was black.”
Then there were gunshots, screams and fights for safety. Benkada said he tried to protect a pregnant woman from being hit during the chaos, and as people pushed forward, a shot tore his knee.
The victims of the shootings, aged 16 to 60, are expected to survive.
Prosecutors described James in court documents as a computer gunman wearing a disguise – a hard hat and building-style jacket thrown away shortly after the attack – and shot “cold-bloodedly at terrified passengers who had nowhere to run.” . . »
However, defense attorney Mia Eisner-Grynberg warned against “crisis rush”.
“Initial references to a case like this are often inaccurate,” he said outside court. He noted that James alerted police to his whereabouts, 30 hours into a manhunt that included cell phone alerts to the general public.
Once he realized he was wanted, he “called on the Crime Stoppers to help,” said Eisner-Grynberg.
The manhunt began in central Manhattan after police received a Twitter message with a photo of someone resembling James, followed by 911 calls indicating other possible sightings. Eventually, James called Crime Stoppers Advice Line to say he was at a McDonald’s in the East Village neighborhood, although he had left when police arrived. Passers-by spotted him and tagged police as they searched the neighborhood, James was eventually arrested a few blocks from McDonald’s.
Two cousins, Zack Dahhan and Mohammad Cheikh, said they saw the man and hurriedly searched for the James poster they were looking for on their phones.
“And we say, ‘My God, this is the guy!’ as many people began to follow him, Dachan said. The cousins said they turned the officers towards him.
James’s lawyers agreed to his release on Thursday, but said they could ask for bail later.
At the request of James’s lawyers, Judge Roanne Mann said she would ask James for “psychiatric care” and magnesium tablets for leg cramps in the Brooklyn federal padlock.
Authorities say a vault of evidence links James to the attack. At the scene of the shooting were found his bank card, his cell phone and a key of a van he had rented. Police also found the pistol, which they said was used in the shooting. Scout records show that James bought the gun from an authorized Ohio dealer in 2011.
In court documents, prosecutors suggested James had the means to carry out more attacks, noting that he had ammunition and other weapons-related items at a Philadelphia storage facility.
The New York native recently lived in Milwaukee and Philadelphia.
Investigators spent hours looking at videos posted by James on social media just Monday, in which he published obscenities about racism, the treatment of blacks by society, homelessness and violence. He also discussed the history of his psychiatric treatment and complained about how the New York mayor treats homeless people on the subway and gun violence.
He also spoke of people being shot, prosecutors note in court documents.
Associated Press reporters Jim Mustian, Jennifer Peltz, Michael R. Sisak, Deepti Hajela and Seth Wenig contributed.
title: “Brooklyn Subway Attack Suspect Ordered Held Without Bail " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-02” author: “Lia Poisson”
Admitted to a federal court in Brooklyn without handcuffs, a restrained Frank James, 62, gently answered formal questions about whether he understood the allegations and the purpose of the brief hearing. His lawyer later asked the public not to prejudge him. James was arrested in Manhattan after calling police to say where he was on Wednesday, a day after a nightmare that left 10 people with gunshot wounds and countless others fearing for their safety on the country’s busiest subway. Authorities say he detonated smoke bombs and dozens of bullets on a train full of morning passengers. He is charged with federal felony criminal mischief for attacking public transport systems – authorities say there is currently no evidence linking him to terrorist organizations and they are still trying to motivate him. “The accused opened fire on passengers on a crowded subway train, disrupting their morning commute in a way the city has not seen for more than 20 years,” said Assistant Attorney General Sara K. Winik. “The accused’s attack was premeditated, carefully planned and caused terror to the victims and to our entire city.” While James was in court, Hurari Benkada was in a hospital bed with a bullet wound to the leg. Bencanda said he was just a few feet away from the gunman on the train and has had difficulty sleeping since. The horrible scene of Tuesday is repeated in his mind. “I’m still shocked by this,” Benkanda said in a video interview on Thursday, grimacing in pain as he remembered the attack. He was wearing headphones, music was playing, as smoke began to fill the subway car. At first he thought it was a small fire. But the smoke “continued to escalate into black, black smoke like 9/11,” he said, “and the whole train was black.” Then there were gunshots, screams and fights for safety. Benkada said he tried to protect a pregnant woman from being hit during the chaos, and as people pushed forward, a shot tore his knee. The victims of the shootings, aged 16 to 60, are expected to survive. Prosecutors described James in court documents as a computer gunman wearing a disguise – a hard hat and construction-style jacket thrown away shortly after the attack – and shot “cold-bloodedly at terrified passengers who had nowhere to run and . . » However, defense attorney Mia Eisner-Grynberg warned against “crisis rush”. “Initial references to a case like this are often inaccurate,” he said outside court. He noted that James alerted police to his whereabouts, 30 hours into a manhunt that included cell phone alerts to the general public. Once he realized he was wanted, he “called on the Crime Stoppers to help,” said Eisner-Grynberg. He had agreed to be held without bail, at least for now. His lawyers could ask for bail later. At the request of James’s lawyers, Judge Roanne Mann said she would ask James for “psychiatric care” and magnesium tablets for leg cramps in the Brooklyn federal padlock. Authorities say a vault of evidence links James to the attack. At the scene of the shooting were found his bank card, his cell phone and a key of a van he had rented. Police also found the pistol, which they said was used in the shooting. Scout records show that James bought the gun from an authorized Ohio dealer in 2011. In court documents, prosecutors suggested James had the means to carry out more attacks, noting that he had ammunition and other weapons-related items at a Philadelphia storage facility. The New York native recently lived in Milwaukee and Philadelphia. Investigators spent hours looking at videos posted by James on social media just Monday, in which he published obscenities about racism, the treatment of blacks by society, homelessness and violence. He also discussed the history of his psychiatric treatment and complained about how the New York mayor treats homeless people on the subway and gun violence. He also spoke of people being shot, prosecutors note in court documents.
Associated Press reporters Jim Mustian, Michael R. Sisak and Jennifer Peltz contributed.
