Suspect at large after 10 shot at Brooklyn subway station

Earlier today, a man wearing a gas mask opened a canister, deployed the smoke and started shooting in a Brooklyn subway, striking multiple people, New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

A Manhattan-bound N train was waiting to enter the 36th Street subway at 8:24 a.m. ET, when a man wearing a gas mask took a canister out of his bag and opened it, Sewell said.

"The train at that time began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway and in the platform," she said, adding that there were no life-threatening injuries.

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White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters traveling to Iowa with President Biden on Tuesday that the Biden administration will “assist through the appropriate channels” following a shooting in Brooklyn that left at least 10 shot in Brooklyn during rush hour.

Psaki said White House senior staff is in contact with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, but the President has not yet spoken with Adams.

“Anything they need, anything they want, we are here to provide that to them,” she added.

Mass transit systems in the US are increasing patrols and asking the public to report anything unusual in the wake of the New York subway shooting.  

Here how several major systems tell CNN they are handling the situation:  

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said that while it's "premature" to label the shooting that left 16 injured at a Brooklyn subway station, what happened was "terror" and called the shooting "a senseless act of violence."

Adams said that they still do not have a "positive ID" of the suspect.

"It's a preliminary investigation taking place, and we don't want to give out any misinformation. We want to be extremely thorough and thoughtful in the information we give out. We do not have a positive ID at this time," he said.

He went on to praise the passengers who assisted the injured and first responders at the scene.

"A total of 16 people. Ten of them we believe were inflicted with gunshot wounds. And I think that when you look at how miraculous this is, you have to point to the passengers and the transit authority officials. They responded with a level of just care for their fellow New Yorkers and our first responders at the neighboring hospitals immediately kicked into gear and just provided the necessary care. I believe lives were saved based on the actions of — that we witnessed on some of the amateur video that was released. You saw passengers coming to the aid of each other. I just cannot thank New Yorkers enough for how we responded," Adams said.

The FBI is working with the NYPD on the Brooklyn subway shooting investigation and they are following "every viable lead," Michael J. Driscoll, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York field office, said Tuesday afternoon.

Driscoll added that he expects evidence collection for the shooting “will take some time,” but added that he is grateful for the residents and eyewitnesses who have already stepped forward with information.

“I look forward to more assistance as we proceed. If you do have information to provide relevant to the attack, please reach out to the NYPD tip line at 1-800-577-TIPS,” Driscoll said.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a video statement today that he is in "constant communication" with the NYPD and other city and state agencies involved in the investigation of the Brooklyn subway shooting.

Adams reiterated that investigators have not found any additional explosive devices. He said that the suspect detonated a smoke canister to "cause havoc" before opening fire.

"We will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorized even by a single individual," Adams said.

The mayor confirmed that the suspect is still at large, saying "we will find him."

Adams asked the public to come forward with any information that they think can help. During the video, he urged anyone with information to call the NYPD Crimestoppers number: 800-577-TIPS.

More background: Adams tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday after taking a PCR test, according to a statement from his spokesperson.

The mayor's spokesperson said on Sunday that Adams was "isolating" and would "continue to serve New Yorkers by working remotely."

Watch the mayor's statement:

NYPD officials say at this time there is no known motive for the Brooklyn subway shooting, and they are “not ruling out anything” in terms of the investigation. 

When asked whether she was ruling out terrorism, NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said she was "not ruling out anything.”

“We are determining what the motive is, and we will find that out as the investigation continues,” she said.

The suspect was in the train car and the shooting began “as the train was pulling into the station” at 36th Street in Sunset Park, she said.

Acting FDNY commissioner Laura Kavanaugh described a variety of injuries, from smoke inhalation to shrapnel to panic from the incident.

It’s under investigation whether cameras were working in the station at the time, Sewell added.

Authorities have not identified the suspect and there will be another briefing later.

Officials stressed that this is still very preliminary as the incident is only a few hours old.

More than 360 people have been shot this year in New York, in 322 shooting incidents, according to data reported by NYPD through Sunday.

Shootings in the city have increased by 8.4% from 297 to 322 compared to last year, according to the data. The number of people injured in those shootings increased from 332 to 363 from 2020 to 2021. 

Over the last two years, shootings in New York are up 72.2%, and shooting victims up 70.4%.

Transit crime, broadly, is up 68% compared to last year, numbers that are closer to where they were at pre-pandemic levels. A total of 617 crimes were reported this year, compared to 367 through the same period last year, according to an NYPD summary of statistics current through Sunday.

Including Tuesday’s shooting, there have been 131 mass shootings in America this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that tracks gun death and injury. Those shootings left 141 people dead and 547 people wounded.

Brooklyn resident Will Wylde said he was in the subway car right next to the one where the shooting took place.

Wylde told CNN he heard a commotion in the other car while the N line train was traveling between the 59th Street and 36th Street subway stations in Brooklyn.

Wylde said he heard popping noises while the train was traveling, but it was unclear what caused them.

However, the door was locked, as some subway doors between cars are locked.

Video footage captured by Wylde showed people backing away from the door and a man banging on the door trying to move into the subway car. Pops are heard in the video, but a CNN analysis of it shows that they are from the man hitting the window with his palm and are not gunshots or explosions. It’s unclear who the person banging on the subway door is. 

Additional videos taken by Wylde show people rushing off the subway train after it pulled into the 36th Street subway station. Smoke poured out of the car where the shooting took place, and people can be heard screaming.

An individual is seen helping an injured and bleeding person dressed in a blue hoodie off the train. Another man is seen hobbling off the train shortly afterward.

Another video taken by Wylde showed that two individuals, who are clearly injured, are in another subway train — likely the one that was across the platform at the 36th Street station. One individual is seen laying on the ground while the other person is seen lying across the seats.

Here's where the shooting took place: