Firefighters responded to reports of smoke at 36th Street Station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood at about 8:30 p.m. found that at least 13 people were injured, but – apart from the five shootings – there were no details on what those injuries meant.
According to multiple law enforcement sources who were informed about the investigation, the first information stated that the suspect who fled was a man wearing a construction vest and a gas mask.
Photos and videos from the scene showed people caring for bloodied passengers lying on the station floor and the air filled with smoke. Fire and police officials were investigating reports of an explosion, but the police department wrote on Twitter that “there are no active explosive devices at the moment.” Several smoke devices were found at the scene, said Mayor Fabien Levy’s spokesman, who confirmed the initial number of gunshot wounds.
At least 11 people are being treated at two local hospitals.
“My subway door opened the disaster. It was smoke and blood and people were screaming,” eyewitness Sam Carcamo told 1010 WINS radio station, saying he saw a giant flood of smoke pouring from train N as soon as the door opened.
A video of passers-by shows people lying on the subway platform in the middle of what appeared to be small puddles of blood, as a loudspeaker announcement told everyone on the smoky platform to get on a train. Inside a subway car, a man lay on the floor, surrounded by others. Outside the station, a police officer shouted: “Let’s go! Get off the road!”
Trains serving this station were delayed during rush hour.
New York Mayor Eric Adams’s office did not immediately provide further details. Adams was at the mayor’s residence on Tuesday morning and was briefed.
The incident happened on a subway line that crosses southern Brooklyn in a neighborhood of about 15 minutes by train to Manhattan. Local schools, including Sunset Park High School across the street, were locked.
Brooklyn-based Danny Mastrogiorgio had just left his son at school when he saw a passenger crash, including several injured, running frantically down the subway at 25th Street. At least two had visible injuries to their legs, 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 fire trucks suddenly crashed into the square.
“Then they started leading the people on the block to the adjacent square and then closed the subway entrance,” he said near the door of the cafe, he told the AP. When he noticed the bomber’s officers and dogs, he was sure it was not a daily problem with the subway.
Governor Kathy Hotsul said in a statement that she had been briefed on the situation and that her office would work with the transit authority and the police department as the investigation continues. US President Joe Biden was also briefed on the latest developments, and White House officials were in contact with Adams and New York Commissioner Kitsad Sewell.
Police were investigating the 4th Avenue, the intersection of the station, asking the witnesses if they were on the train. A sea of emergency lights was visible from at least twelve blocks away, where a police cordon had been set up.
The shootings occurred as New York City faced a wave of shootings and high-profile incidents in recent months, including the city’s subway. One of the most shocking was in January, when a woman was pushed to her death in front of the train by a stranger.
Adams, a Democrat just over 100 days in office, has put crime-fighting – especially on the subway – at the heart of his early rule, pledging to send more police to stations and patrol stations. It was not immediately clear if police had already been inside the station when the shootings took place.
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Associated Press reporters Michael Balsamo in Washington and Michelle L. Price, Jennifer Peltz and Jim Mustian in New York contributed to this report.
As for the many people who were shot at the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn, there are NO active explosive devices at this time. All witnesses are invited to call @NYPDTips at # 800577TIPS. Please stay away from the area. More information is provided when available. pic.twitter.com/8UoiCAXemB