© Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images North America/TN
New York City police officers walk out of a police station with Frank R. James, 62, center, suspected in a subway shooting, Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in New York.
NEW YORK — As New York police and law enforcement scoured the city Wednesday in search of the Brooklyn subway gunman, the burly suspect enjoyed some of Manhattan’s culinary delights.
At 10:30 am, Frank James sat outside Chinatown’s trendy Dimes restaurant, staring into space, a source who spied on the suspect said. A few hours later, James had lunch at Katz’s Deli, a separate source confirmed to the Daily News.
Around 1 p.m., the 62-year-old, apparently fed up with the food tour, called Crime Stoppers on himself at an East Village McDonald’s. An eagle-eyed worker spotted him and he was taken into custody at 1:42 pm at St. Mark’s Place and First Ave.
A day later, lower Manhattan was now quiet and abuzz with sightings of the gas-mask-wearing gunman who shot 10 homeless people aboard an N train in Sunset Park and then wandered through the city.
“We heard he came to McDonald’s and then went to get a beer. Our friend saw it,” said Salim Brisbane, 18, outside McDonald’s.
“It’s just another crazy guy who went to this McDonald’s,” added Josh, 18, who lives in the area and regularly frequents the restaurant.
James’s motive remained a mystery. But his strange walk proved that he might hide in plain sight in some of the busiest areas of the city.
In fact, from the moment James entered Brooklyn across the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in a rented U-Haul cargo van at 4:11 a.m. Tuesday until he casually walked from a subway station filled with terrified and injured shooters Nearly five hours later, the gunman was caught. on a variety of surveillance cameras.
Video showed the suspect leaving the U-Haul on Kings Highway at 6:12 a.m. dressed in an orange work vest and yellow hard hat as if on his way to work. He was carrying two bags, which authorities said were filled with fireworks, a container filled with gasoline, a torch and a Glock 17 pistol.
Nearby was an entrance to the N train. James boarded a train bound for Manhattan and traveled eight stops. At 8:26 am he allegedly donned a gas mask, detonated a smoke canister and fired 33 shots at passengers on the crowded train as it approached the 36th St station. Miraculously, no one was killed.
Amidst the chaos, James ditched his belongings, his construction vest and mask, and boarded an R train that traveled one stop. Video obtained by the Daily News from a warehouse at the 25th St. station shows him exiting the subway system alone and walking away. A few seconds later, a group of people are seen running for their lives, apparently unaware that they were running towards the suspected gunman.
“He was the first out,” said Sulaimen Yehia, 33, who worked at Lotto Deli & Grill. “He had already changed his clothes. They were looking for a man in gray and construction attire and he came out all in black. No one thought that he would change his clothes so quickly.”
Sources said James was later seen on video strolling through the sprawling Green-Wood Cemetery before boarding a city bus to the subway stop at Seventh Ave. and Ninth St. in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
“If it were me, I would choose a different route, one with less traffic,” said John Williams, 71, who was sweeping outside his home on 7th Ave. in Greenwood Heights. “But I guess he had more in mind than his route.”
James bought a mask at the 9th Street Quick Stop, worker Ismail Hossein, 24, confirmed, adding that a colleague had spoken with the FBI and New York police.
The night of the attack, law enforcement sources told The News, James was staying at the Chelsea International Hostel on W. 20th St. A hostel employee, following much deliberation when asked regarding the notorious guest, told a reporter that will return next week. The Tenth Precinct Police Station is across the street and several doors down.
On Wednesday morning, James was spotted at Dimes, the popular eatery that serves “eclectic, health-conscious California-style food served in a minimalist white-and-blond wood space.”
“He just sat there with the duffel bag staring off into space,” the source said. “No phone, nothing. And the bag was heavy.”
After James left, a customer called police, the source said.
Detectives arrived at Dimes following James was arrested and interviewed restaurant employees, the source said.
A couple of hours later, James headed north and had lunch at Katz’s, the famous pastrami palace on Houston St. on the Lower East Side. Workers at the restaurant known for a classic scene from the 1989 romantic comedy “When Harry Met Sally” were stunned and said they had no idea James had been among the customers. The News was unable to confirm James’ meal.
The ride was coming to an end.
James, who had railed on YouTube videos regarding homelessness, subway conditions and social decay, sat down at a McDonald’s on E. 6th St. and First Ave. and called Crime Stoppers. On the call, James said he was in the East Village and that he was “seeing his face all over the news,” the source said. An operator asked James for his phone number, and he replied that he didn’t know because his phone was new and, in any case, his battery was regarding dead. James told the operator that he would charge the phone at a McDonald’s or somewhere else nearby, the source said.
Officers from the nearby Ninth Precinct were now on high alert. In a bizarre but appropriate twist, cops finally put handcuffs on James following a New Jersey security camera company worker recognized the suspect walking on St. Mark’s Place and flagged down a passing police vehicle. .
James, arrested less than two miles from One Police Plaza, was then led from the local police precinct before a bevy of cameras and photographers. He is accused of committing a terrorist act on public transport.
Yehia, the Lotto Deli worker in Sunset Park, recalled Thursday how he was stunned to see the tape of James leaving the nearby subway station.
“He headed down Fifth Ave. I see a bunch of people, and then they left the same way he did,” she said. “The gunman was with them and they didn’t even know,” he said.
- This text was translated by Octavio López/TCA
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