NEW YORK – At least five people were shot and injured Tuesday at a New York subway station during a morning rush hour attack in which injured passengers were bleeding on a train platform while police searched for the shooter.
Firefighters responding to reports of smoke at 36th Street in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park station around 8:30 a.m. said at least 13 people were injured, but – apart from the five shots – there are no details on what the injuries were.
According to a number of law enforcement sources familiar with the investigation, preliminary information indicates that the suspect who escaped was a man wearing a construction vest and gas mask.
Photos and video from the scene show people caring for bloodied passengers lying on the station floor and the air full of smoke. Firefighters and police investigated reports of an explosion, but the police department tweeted that “there are no active explosive devices at the moment.” Numerous smoke devices were found at the site, said Mayor’s spokesman Fabien Levy, who confirmed the initial number of shooting injuries.
At least 11 people are being treated at two local hospitals.
“The door to the subway opened for me in distress. There was smoke and blood and people were screaming, “eyewitness Sam Carcamo told 1010 WINS radio, saying he saw a giant stream of smoke pouring from train N after the door opened.
A video of a passerby shows people lying on a subway platform amid what looked like small puddles of blood as a speaker’s message told everyone on the smoke-clouded platform to board a train. In the subway car, a man is lying on the floor, surrounded by others. In front of the station, a policeman shouted: “Let’s go! Let’s go!” Get out of the way!
The trains serving this station were delayed at rush hour in the morning.
New York Mayor Eric Adams’ office has no immediate details. Adams was at the mayor’s residence Tuesday morning and was briefed.
The accident happened on a subway line that runs through South Brooklyn in a neighborhood about 15 minutes by train to Manhattan. Local schools, including Sunset Park High School across the street, have been locked.
Danny Mastrogiorgio of Brooklyn had just left his son at school when he saw a collision of passengers, including many wounded, running up the subway stairs at 25th Street in a panic. At least two had visible leg injuries, he said.
“It was crazy,” he told the Associated Press. “Nobody knew exactly what was going on.”
Alan Lee was running his business, Cafe Nube, when half a dozen police cars and firefighters suddenly gathered in the block.
“Then they started bringing people who were in the block to the next block and then closed the entrance to the subway” near the door of the cafe, he told the AP. When he saw police officers and dogs from the bomb department, he was sure that this was not an everyday problem with the subway.
Governor Katie Hochul said in a statement that she had been informed of the situation and said her office would work with the transit authority and the police department while the investigation continues. US President Joe Biden has also been briefed on recent developments, and senior White House officials have been in contact with Adams and New York Police Commissioner Kitchent Sewell.
Police officers walked around 4th Avenue, the intersection of the station, asking witnesses if they were on the train. A sea of emergency lights could be seen from at least a dozen blocks where a police cordon was set up.
The shootings come as New York has faced a wave of shootings and high-profile incidents in recent months, including on the city’s subway. One of the most shocking was in January, when a woman was pushed to death in front of a train by a stranger.
Adams, a Democrat just over 100 days after his term, put the fight against crime – especially in the subway – the focus of his early administration, promising to send more police officers to stations and platforms for regular patrols. It was not immediately clear whether police officers were already at the station when the shooting occurred.
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Associated Press reporters Michael Balsamo in Washington and Michelle L. Price, Jennifer Peltz and Jim Mustian of New York contributed to this report
There are currently NO active explosive devices for the many people shot at Brothlin’s 36th Street Subway Station. All witnesses were asked to call @NYPDTips on # 800577TIPS. Please stay away from the area. More information provided when available. pic.twitter.com/8UoiCAXemB
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