New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that while five victims remained in critical condition, none of the injuries were life-threatening. The incident is not being investigated as a terrorist incident, he added. The bomber struck shortly after 8:30 a.m. during a morning commute between 25th Street and 36th Street in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood. Police said the suspect released a smoke grenade or other incendiary device before opening fire on the passengers. “As the train entered the station, the man put on a gas mask, then opened a canister in his bag and then the car filled with smoke,” Sewell told reporters. “The suspect was in the train car. “The shooting started in the train car.” The video from the mobile phone showed panicked passengers rushing out of the subway car as it entered the 36th Street station, with smoke and fog coming out of its interior. The photos showed victims lying on a blood-stained platform. Several witnesses reported hearing a loud bang. Police said the suspect was a black man, about five feet five inches tall and “heavy”, who was wearing a high-visibility green vest and a gray hooded sweatshirt. On Tuesday afternoon, US President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter: “Jill and I are praying for those injured in the New York subway shooting. We are grateful for the first responders and the citizens who took action. “My team has been in contact with city officials and we are working to support the efforts on the ground.” Later at an event in Iowa, Biden added: “We are not giving up until. . . we find the perpetrator “. In the meantime, many local schools have closed. The attack comes at a time when many New Yorkers are on the brink of a sharp rise in shootings and hate crimes that have brought public safety to the top of the political agenda. People Injured at 36th Street Subway Station in Brooklyn, New York © Armen Armenian / Reuters The busiest metro system in the country has become the scene of many horrific attacks. This has made many residents fearful of its use and prompted business leaders to call for improved security as they try to encourage workers and tourists to return to a city that is still struggling to reopen since the Covid closure. Dozens of New York ambulances and vehicles lined up on Fourth Avenue, which was blocked south of 35th Street. Hundreds of city officials, firefighters and staff gathered at the scene, a grand boulevard full of Italian delicacies and Chinese restaurants near Sunset Park Tube Station. At least three helicopters circled above. The neighborhood boasts large Spanish-speaking and Asian communities, the latter of which has grown rapidly in recent years. Although details were scarce, the attack brought to mind previous incidents, including the partial bombing of a Times Square subway station in 2017 that injured four people and the 1992 shooting of a Long Island Railroad train that killed six people. Additional Report by Lauren Fedor in Washington
