Sixteen people were shot or hurt during a mass shooting in a New York subway station in Brooklyn, the largest borough in the city and the third-largest municipality in America.
On Tuesday, April 12th, one lone gunman, dressed in an orange reflective construction vest and a gas mask, terrorized hundreds of people on the southbound R train, beginning at the 25th Street station in the predominately white area of Sunset Park during the early morning rush-hour crowd.
Through one of his communications reps Fabien Levy, Mayor Eric Adams told his constituents, “To stay away from this area for their safety and so that first responders can help those in need and investigate.”
.@NYCMayor continues to be briefed on the situation.
— Fabien Levy (@Fabien_Levy) April 12, 2022
While we gather more information, we ask New Yorkers to stay away from this area for their safety and so that first responders can help those in need and investigate. https://t.co/Tl2EXx8wuC
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, has reached out to the Mayor after being briefed on the mass shooting.
@POTUS has been briefed on the latest developments regarding the New York City subway shooting. White House senior staff are in touch with Mayor Adams and Police Commissioner Sewell to offer any assistance as needed.
— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) April 12, 2022
Images from the crime scene showed multiple bloodied passengers dazed from the ordeal where a shooter blasted up a confined car of a subway train.
Reports said he dazed people by throwing smoke bombs and then started shooting.
Retired NYC Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said, “This perpetrator dropped those smoke cans, if that’s what they are, and shot around, and then exited from that point.”
“He’s not going to stay on there if there’s smoke on there, even if he has the filter mask,” Detective Boyce said.
It is believed the gunman exited the train with some of the victims at the 36th Street station stop.
Schools in the incident area have been placed on lockdown or sheltered until the suspect is secured and apprehended.
Eight patients, who were in stable condition, were taken to NYU Langone-Brooklyn. Five victims were taken to the Maimonides Medical Center. Two of them were treated for gunshot wounds, and the other three were seen for smoke inhalation.
Three other patients were brought to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where they are being treated for injuries caused by the attack.
The city issued alerts on social media regarding travel in that area.
“Expect delays & service changes on D/N/R/F trains in Brooklyn and Manhattan. W/B/R trains are suspended in Brooklyn. http://mta.info. Multilingual & ASL Link: http://on.nyc.gov/2gFqaVT.”
UPDATE: Expect delays & service changes on D/N/R/F trains in Brooklyn and Manhattan. W/B/R trains are suspended in Brooklyn. https://t.co/ENIxXVnNZ4. Multilingual & ASL Link: https://t.co/WDXBcKR1x4. https://t.co/2Fi1n7BOfa
— NYCEM – Notify NYC (@NotifyNYC) April 12, 2022
As of publishing, no arrests have been made.