Police Investigating ‘Concerning Posts’ About Mayor Eric Adams and Homelessness in Subway Shooting Probe
A person of interest in Tuesday’s mass shooting on a New York City subway posted “concerning” messages on social media, police say.
Police identified Frank James, 62, as a person of interest in the shooting late Tuesday.
New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell was asked about social media posts believed to belong to James at a Tuesday evening press conference.
She confirmed James had talked about Mayor Eric Adams, but did not say what exactly James said or on which platform.
“Based on some preliminary information, there are postings possibly connected to our person of interest where he mentions homelessness, he mentions New York, and does mention Mayor Adams,” Sewell said. “And as a result of that in an abundance of caution, we’re going to tighten the mayor’s security detail.
Sewell cautioned they cannot definitively link James to the posts.
NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig also commented on the social media posts.
Asked if he believed the social media posts to which Sewell had referred to were made by James, Essig answered, “We’re pouring through that, but yes, correct.”
Essig said James is a person of interest, as the keys to a truck he rented in Philadelphia were found at the crime scene. James was first identified as someone police would like to speak to about an hour before the press conference.
This is Frank James. He is a person of interest in the shooting that took place on the N train in Brooklyn Tuesday morning. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call @NYPDTips at 1-800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/vSYb5UIu2k
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 12, 2022
The NYPD has clarified no one is currently in custody amid the investigation. Police say whoever shot 10 people at approximately 8 a.m. ET was on a northbound N train at the 36th Street Station in Sunset Park. A number of cameras in the station were not operational.
The suspect fired 33 shots from a handgun after he first set off two smoke bombs, police said. He was carrying multiple high-capacity magazines and was also in possession of fireworks.
Watch above, via MSNBC.
