Subway Shooting: Man Wanted By Police Makes Youtube Video, Alludes To New York Mayor To Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine

Photo of Frank James allegedly linked to the New York subway shooting. (Twitter/@NYPDnews)

JAKARTA - New York police are hunting for a man suspected of being linked to yesterday's subway shooting, a person who has also been linked to a number of posts on social media, ranging from the mayor of New York to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Police launched an intense manhunt Tuesday for a gunman who set off two smoke bombs and opened fire on a New York subway train, wounding at least 20 people in the morning rush hour attack, prompting new calls to combat a wave of violence in the city's transit system.

Police said the gunman is believed to have acted alone and fled the scene immediately. The attack took place as a subway train bound for Manhattan on line N was entering an underground station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood.

New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Keechant Sewell said a U-Haul van believed to be linked to the shooting was later located in Brooklyn, but the perpetrator remained at large hours after the shooting.

At an afternoon news briefing, police identified the "person of interest" in the investigation as Frank James, who investigators believe has rented a U-Haul vehicle.

Police said they found the keys to the van at the crime scene and it had been rented in Philadelphia. James has addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin, officials said. Reuters' attempts to contact one of the phone numbers linked to James were unsuccessful.

This is Frank James who is a person of interest in this investigation. Any information can be directed to @NYPDTips at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/yBpenmsX67

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) April 12, 2022

Meanwhile, citing the New York Post, James had lambasted Mayor Adams and made a strange threatening rant on YouTube.

"Mr. Mayor, I am a victim of your mental health program. I am now full of hate, full of anger, and full of bitterness," James says in one long video.

James said he had been diagnosed with mental illness and railed against what he called a "horror show" from the city's mental health services.

"What happened in that place was violence," he said of the facility he claims to be treated for.

"It's not physical violence, but the kind of violence a child goes through in elementary school that will make him pick up guns and shoot women."

Not only that, but he also mentioned the issue of race and claimed that the Russian invasion of Ukraine was proof that black people were treated with contempt in society.

"These white bastards, this is what they do. In the end, they kill and commit genocide against each other. What do you think they will do to your black ass?"

The only options James could find, he said, were to do more violence or become a criminal.

"So the message to me was: I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting moms," he said.

"Or I should get dope and start shooting or start banging on the head, robbing old women, you know what that is."

The keys to James' van were found at the crime scene, as were the credit card that rented the vehicle from Philadelphia, police and law enforcement sources said. However, it is not yet clear whether James is a suspected gunman, according to authorities.

NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said at an earlier press conference the suspect was a black man about 5 feet-5 and weighing about 170 pounds. He was wearing a gas mask, an orange and green construction-type vest, a neon green work helmet, and a gray hooded sweatshirt at the time.