By Jennifer Peltz, Michael R. Sisak and Michael Balsamo, AP

A man who posted numerous social media videos decrying the U.S. as a racist place awash in violence and recounting his struggle with mental illness was arrested Wednesday afternoon, a day after an attack on a subway train in Brooklyn left 10 people wounded by gunfire.

Frank R. James, 62, was taken into custody in Manhattan’s East Village neighborhood, law enforcement officials who weren’t authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity told The Associated Press. Further details weren’t immediately available.


Police had initially said Tuesday that James was being sought for questioning because he had rented a van possibly connected to the attack, but weren’t sure whether he was responsible for the shooting. Mayor Eric Adams said in a series of media interviews Wednesday morning that investigators had upgraded James to a suspect, but did not offer details beyond citing “new information that became available to the team.”

The gunman set off smoke grenades in a crowded subway car and then fired at least 33 shots with a 9mm handgun, police said. Five gunshot victims were in critical condition but all 10 wounded in the shooting were expected to survive. At least a dozen others who escaped gunshot wounds were treated for smoke inhalation and other injuries.

The shooter escaped in the chaos, but left behind numerous clues, including the gun, ammunition magazines, a hatchet, smoke grenades, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van.

That key led investigators to James, a New York City-area native who had more recent addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin.

Federal investigators determined the gun used in the shooting was purchased by James at a pawn shop — a licensed firearms dealer — in the Columbus, Ohio, area in 2011, a law enforcement official said

The van was found, unoccupied, near a station where investigators determined the gunman had entered the subway system. No explosives or firearms were found in the van, a law enforcement official said. Police did find other items, including pillows, suggesting he may have been sleeping or planned to sleep in the van, the official said.

Investigators believe James drove up from Philadelphia on Monday and have reviewed surveillance video showing a man matching his physical description coming out of the van early Tuesday morning, the official said. Other video shows James entering a subway station in Brooklyn with a large bag, the official said.

In addition to analyzing financial and telephone records connected to James, investigators were reviewing hours of rambling, profanity-filled videos James posted on YouTube and other social media platforms — replete with violent language and bigoted comments, some against other Black people — as they tried to discern a motive.

In one video, posted a day before the attack, James criticizes crime against Black people and says drastic action is needed.

“You got kids going in here now taking machine guns and mowing down innocent people,” James says. “It’s not going to get better until we make it better,” he said, adding that he thought things would only change if certain people were “stomped, kicked and tortured” out of their “comfort zone.”

In another video he says, “this nation was born in violence, it’s kept alive by violence or the threat thereof and it’s going to die a violent death. There’s nothing going to stop that.”

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the posts “concerning” and officials tightened security for Adams, who was already isolating following a positive COVID-19 test Sunday.

Several of James’ videos mention New York’s subways. A Feb. 20 video says the mayor and governor’s plan to address homelessness and safety in the subway system “is doomed for failure” and refers to himself as a “victim” of the city’s mental health programs. A Jan. 25 video criticizes Adams’ plan to end gun violence.

The Brooklyn subway station where passengers fled the smoke-filled train in the attack was open as usual Wednesday morning, less than 24 hours after the violence.

 

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69 COMMENTS

    • A. No one has died from his actions. (yet?)
      B. Old Sparky is too busy juicing up your keyboard for perpetual Caps Lock.

      • YOUS MIGHT GOTSTA TYPE MORE LOWDER CUZ IT DONT SEEM LIKES HES CAN HEAR US IN HEER WID ALL DAH SHOUTIN GOIN ON!

      • Why unfortunate I would want his motivation for this attack to be made public and denounced as no legitimate worldview would justify such an attack.

        • I would like to know a motive too, but it sounds to me like it’s just another person with a screw loose. In some reports he ranted about the NYC mental health system and claimed to have been harmed by it in the past. As things go downhill in America the loose nuts are the first to fall out of their trees.

        • I wouldn’t wait to hear him spewing any “racist” language or motive: His prostituting, err, defense council will do some major rehearsing with him before that happens. And after listening to some of his rants on socials and YouTube, I doubt anyone thinks he’s firing on all cylinders, let alone most.

          On a related matter (you figure it all out), God Bless Tony Dungy for speaking the obvious after Gov Desantis signed Florida’s “fatherhood” law. I hope many more like him will also take point and six. Truth, honesty and courage are virtues regardless of one’s birthright.

        • Interviewing animals, publishing their motives, publicizing all the drama involved in trials etc, only glorifies them, and makes more people want to emulate them.

          The news media is largely responsible for creating the next monster who lives out their fantasies by gunning down a crowd of people.

          Put a bullet in their ears when they are caught, and bury them, as quietly as possible. If the media gets too nosy, put a bullet into some of their ears as well.

        • “Put a bullet in their ears when they are caught, and bury them, as quietly as possible. If the media gets too nosy, put a bullet into some of their ears as well.”

          Ah, yes! Here we have someone Putin, Xi, Kim, Soros, etc would love to recruit. To hell with the American system of Justice. Seems to be a bit of this around here. Just don’t equate me with them merely because I come here occasionally- K?

        • Normally all of you have valid points but here we have a crazy preaching the inverse of everything they accuse white males of who actually went on to commit acts of violence. I am ok with his words being wildly publicized if only to remove the ability to deny that such people exist let alone are generally left alone by federal law enforcement.

    • Need to double check the budget as we may be able to lock up criminals involved in “gun crimes” without bail now.

  3. Just proves that white, pasty, slugs are not the only things dwelling in their mother’s basement.

      • Dacian’s Mom told me he makes such a nice playmate for her wee boy. Inclusive™ as well. She says she doesn’t know what they’re up to down there but she can hear all the laughing and screaming so they must be having a good time. And the plate of sammiches she leaves at the top of the stairs is always emptied right away and put back nice n clean and a note on it saying “moar ho”. She’s so happy for him and thinks “ho” might be Ebonics for mayo or something…

  5. Linked in this TTAG article is the link to https://apnews.com/article/crime-police-new-york-violence-new-york-city-709bc9320320ed192da8c5a2ccb40cdb > in the apnews linki the mayor says this…

    “New Yorkers feel as if a sea of violence is engulfing our city. But as your mayor, I promise you I will not let this happen. We will not surrender our city to the violent few,”

    There are only a “violent few” ?

    If there are only a “violent few” … lots of questions for that one.

    But good news though, there are only a “violent few” in New York City.

    Are you saying Mr. Mayor that you are so inept that you can’t reign in this “violent few”?

    “violent few” my butt, take a look at your own city’s crime stats mayor.

    The New York Mayor isn’t even aware of the extent of the crime problem in New York City.

    • Generally, in any shitty, even NYC and Shitcago, it is only a few individuals committing most of the violent crime. When they break the data down and cross reference social media there is rarely more than 1 degree of social media separation between the violent perps.

  6. All this effort and tv air time…
    All this man power and internet commentary…

    If this man is actually THE one, will he end up being released over fear of catching Covid? There is talk of trying to give him a life sentence but I have doubt he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. BLM foot soldiers like this are usually not held for long.

    • Yes, he is black. No, he is not BLM. He’s a Muslim, and a Black Nationalist. He may find common cause with BLM here and there, but he’s not BLM.

      Just thought you’d like to know that not every black man is a BLM.

      • Not every white man is a racist either. Wether or not he is an official member of BLM means about as much to me as the fact that most white men are not KKK members means to people like Al Sharpton or Quanell X.

        Don’t you find it interesting that we are not hearing much from these two?

    • To the rabbit hole! Black,angry and raciss motives. Wrong color. Dims will use this for more 2A infringement…

    • Given his comments about the mental health system in NYC, and that some reports list him as a native of New York, did New York and it’s mental health system fail to properly notify the NICS system about this guy at some point?

      • Excellent point! Don’t know if he would of have had to be involuntarily committed for that reporting to be required though.

  9. Federal investigators determined the gun used in the shooting was purchased by James at a pawn shop — a licensed firearms dealer — in the Columbus, Ohio, area in 2011, a law enforcement official said

    Well that was quick. Makes you wonder how atf got that info so fast.

    • “Makes you wonder how atf got that info so fast.”

      No, it doesn’t.

      He dropped the gun at the scene of the crime. The gun most likely had a non-erased serial number on it.

      One phone call to Glock in Georgia told the ATF what distributor Glock sold that gun to. The distributor pulled up the serial number and told the ATF what FFL-licencend gun dealer they sold it to, in that case, a pawn shop.

      One call (probably, or an in-person visit) to the pawn shop gave the ATF the name, address, social security number, etc, of whoever bought the gun.

      Now, suppose the original owner legally sold it to a buddy of his. BATF agents at the front door motivated the original owner to tell them who he sold it to.

      That’s how the ATF “…got that info so fast”…

      • “Makes you wonder how atf got that info so fast.”

        I’m certain one of the reasons ATF will claim is that he didn’t use a “ghost gun”…

      • Once again Geoff the 🤡 drops ‘knowledge’ that all but the most basic knuckledragger (i.e. Geoff and Lamp) knows. What a complete loser you are 🤣🤣.

        • avatar Geoff "A day without an obsessed, obviously brain-damaged and mentally-ill demented troll (who deserves to live in New Jersey) PR

          Stop sending me pictures of your junk. It’s revolting, and I still refuse to have sex with you, actual loser… 🤡 🤣🤣🤣

      • The law provides that FFL records may not be digitized after the FFL turns them over after the business closes. Instead they are microfiched. That law does not apply to manufacturers, who provide lists of serial numbers that have been stamped on guns, as well as computer records of the retailer or wholesaler to whom the guns were sold/shipped.

  10. Racial hatred terrorism?

    How can that be? Only Whites can be racists.

    Call it what it is, but remember that I do not get invited to CEOs tables, either. Most whites in America trace their family back to Europe well after the war between the states. The excuse was slavery, just like WMDs were the excuse to get Saddam, but most white families here in the US did not have anything to do with slavery, since they were in Europe. Others had nothing to do with slavery because they were too poor to own slaves or lived where there were no slaves.
    Go ahead and blame whites, that is what the major players want, us squabbling over things that do not matter in those board rooms.

  11. Just remember. He’s NOT a terrorist or a racist unlike that white devil Rittenhouse. This guy can’t be too bad because he sounds just like MSNBC. Blood is NOT on the hands of Democrats for pushing this white supremacist conspiracy theory ideology that had this guy upset. Move along. Toss this story under the rug with parade killer dude.

  12. Time for a nice fair trial, followed immediately with a nice public live streamed execution. Of course he will coddled by the media as a poor, misunderstood, oppressed, victim.

    • Nobody died in his attack. I think an execution is a little extreme.

      He should have to live in dacians basement with dacian.

        • Still in catatonic shock that his BLM fellow travelers turned out to be a bunch of grifters using the protection money, err donations, to enrich themselves and enjoy the 6 star lifestyle.

      • @jwm All crime can be punished by death, nobody died when Julius and Ethel Rosenberg committed theirs. Some states have death penalty for kidnapping, Federal law permits death for deprivation of rights under color of law. It’s time to get tough with these POS’s

      • Setting the death penalty conversation aside, people only survived by sheer luck. He had the same intent as he would have had if everyone had died. So why shouldn’t he be punished the same? With either outcome, he’s still the exact same bad dude that tried to kill a bunch of people.

        • We can argue should till we are as oxygen deprived as some of our visiting trolls but ultimately this is New York. We do not have the death penalty but we do count attempted murder as murder so life without parole is on the table if the da has any level of guts. I suspect there are other enhancements at the federal level that could (but likely won’t) be added but we shall see what they attempt to charge him with and whether they offer a plea deal to avoid a public trial.

      • avatar Geoff "A day without an obsessed, obviously brain-damaged and mentally-ill demented troll (who deserves to live in New Jersey) PR

        “Nobody died in his attack. I think an execution is a little extreme.”

        They filed federal terrorism charges on his racist ass.

        Anyone know how many years that can get him?

  13. Could that gun have been planted there to frame him? Would that be his defense in court?

    An AR15 was not used
    An assault rifle was not used
    A ghost gun was not used
    A home made gun was not used
    The gun was made by Glock
    No cop killer bullets we’re used
    Multiple magazines were used
    His gun was legally purchased
    NICS greenlighted him
    He had a prior record
    This man actually IS a racist
    He is not a white nationalist
    He is not a Trump supporter

    He left his gun behind along with other ‘clues’ to his identity so more than anything else, he is an imbecile. As his gun was purchased so long ago, was he a different person then? Getting since conscripted? But this absolutely does make me ask all of you about so many new gun owners since the summer of love with Covid fear? At a time when BLM/Antifa is hitting a peak? Are you certain that they are pro-2A? It makes looking at all those NICS check numbers over the last two years shine in a different light. I’m sure the gun store sold that gun to him in good faith.

    There is much about this one that people really need to consider. One item in particular is that even though the serial number on his gun actually did help lead the cops to him, that doesn’t happen all that often. How many U-Hual’s were used by BLM and Antifa over the last two years? In Washington on Jan6?

    • I can’t think of a better reason to carry atleast two guns and use high capacity magazines.

    • Advocating to murder anyone even a murderer once they’re in custody is simply repeating the crime that they committed and is just as injust as what they did. We have a legal system for a reason and extra judicial killings are not permitted under that system.

  15. And last but not least…he most probably was a disgruntled democRat along the lines of a maxine waters.

  16. Considering how the man is 62 years old any only shot people for an incredibly small fraction of his total lifespan we could say that he is mostly peaceful and not charge him with anything. Given his history of mental illness he will die of old age before ever being held accountable for his actions.

  17. Frank R James is a black cell operative.
    Paddock was used to ban bumpstocks.
    James is going to be used to ban ghost gunms.

  18. I’ve got a brand new rifle that needs testing out. Line that SOB up and I will be more than glad to deprive him of his life and liberty. Already got a guilty conscience, one more won’t hurt me a bit. I’m sure there are more volunteers like me.
    I heard some of his racist BS before YouTube took it down. They let him spew his hate for a LONG time without even a hint of trying to rein him in. He shoots up the subway and suddenly they are all about making sure his vile crap is erased. YouTube definitely AGREED with his BS until he went off the rails! That’s what this “woke” BS is good for. Anyway, I hope he has some kind of “accident” and dies SLOWLY while choking on his own blood.

  20. Well this is obviously a mistake. There is no such thing as a violent, racist, black man. These reports are wrong. Only a white man can be violent and racist. Only a white man can wield guns as a means to an end. It’s like saying Idi Amin Dada was a murderer. How can a black man be a killer? Do not be fooled by the following quote by The Guardian in 2013.

    “Amin’s rule was characterised by rampant human rights abuses, including political repression, ethnic persecution and extrajudicial killings, as well as nepotism, corruption, and gross economic mismanagement. International observers and human rights groups estimate that between 100,000[10] and 500,000 people were killed under his regime…”

    So you see saying that a black man is capable of violence is questionable even when there is undeniable proof. Only a white person can be racist. Only a white person is capable of violence. Isn’t that correct Herr 49er?

  21. So Frank James shot up a train. Are the police also looking for a brother named Jesse?

  22. Some of my post are not displayed after I push post comment. ?
    Data transfer confirms it was sent. ?

    • That one worked. ?
      Better not be messing with me internet world, I’ll give the ruskins my email, paybacks a btch.

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