At 8:24 on a Tuesday morning, the northbound N train had just left the 59th Street station on Brooklyn's Fourth Avenue Line when a 62-year-old man named Frank James put on a gas mask, dropped two smoke grenades onto the floor of the crowded car, and started shooting. He fired at least 33 rounds from a Glock 17 as smoke filled the train and passengers scrambled over one another in the confined space. By the time the train reached the 36th Street station in Sunset Park, the platform became a scene of blood, smoke, and screaming -- and a citywide manhunt was underway.
The attack unfolded in the worst possible setting for an emergency: a sealed subway car traveling between stations during the morning rush. When the doors opened at 36th Street, a waiting passenger described seeing "calamity" -- smoke pouring out, people bleeding, voices shouting for help. Passengers from an adjacent car filmed the evacuation, footage that spread across social media within minutes. The FDNY arrived responding to what was initially reported as smoke in the station, only to find a mass shooting. Across the platform, a conductor on the R train urged riders to board for evacuation. When that train stopped at 25th Street, police ordered everyone out, triggering a panicked stampede that injured still more people. By day's end, the toll stood at 29 injured: ten from gunfire, five of those critically, and nineteen more from smoke inhalation, falls, and the crush of fleeing commuters.
James fled on foot, exiting the subway system one stop away at 25th Street. He left behind a remarkable amount of evidence: the Glock handgun, three ammunition magazines, a credit card in his own name, a key to a rented U-Haul van, two undetonated smoke grenades, a container of gasoline, fireworks, and a hatchet. Surveillance footage later showed him entering the subway at Kings Highway, several stops to the south, that morning. But the cameras at 36th Street itself had malfunctioned -- faulty fan units had knocked them offline, and maintenance crews had tried to repair them just the day before the attack. Authorities issued an emergency alert with James's photo and a tipline number. The next afternoon, James called the tipline himself, saying he knew he was wanted and was at a McDonald's in Manhattan's East Village. Police rushed to the location but did not find him. Shortly after, artist and gallery owner Lee Vasu spotted James on the street near St. Marks Place and called 911. Officers arrested him at approximately 1:45 p.m., ending a manhunt that had lasted 29 hours.
The attack crystallized anxieties that had been building for years. Reports of violent crime on the subway had risen sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, even as ridership remained depressed. The killing of Michelle Go, pushed in front of a train in January 2022, had already shaken public confidence. James himself had posted years of rambling, hate-filled videos on YouTube and Facebook, expressing grievances that ranged from racial separatism to paranoid conspiracy theories. He had 12 prior arrests, mostly for misdemeanors. The gun used in the attack had been purchased legally from a pawn shop in Columbus, Ohio. In the aftermath, Uber and Lyft faced backlash for surge pricing in the area before disabling it. NYC Ferry offered free rides on its South Brooklyn route. Congress members demanded answers about the failed surveillance cameras.
On January 3, 2023, James pleaded guilty to federal terrorism charges. That October, he was sentenced to ten concurrent life terms without parole -- one for each person he shot -- plus an additional ten years on a firearms charge. Five people split the $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest; four of the five attended a ceremony where Mayor Eric Adams honored the civilians and officers involved in the capture. The broken cameras at 36th Street were repaired by the afternoon of April 13, one day after the attack. MTA chairman Janno Lieber confirmed that faulty fan units at three stations had degraded the surveillance network at the worst possible moment. For the millions who ride the New York City Subway every day, the attack at Sunset Park was a reminder that the system's greatest vulnerability has always been the same: it is open to everyone.
The 36th Street station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn is located near 40.654N, 74.004W, approximately 1 nm southeast of the Gowanus Canal. The neighborhood sits between the elevated Gowanus Expressway and the ridge of Sunset Park itself, with views toward the Statue of Liberty and Upper New York Bay. JFK International Airport (KJFK) is 10 nm to the southeast. Recommended viewing altitude: 2,000-3,000 ft AGL.