New York City subway shooting: Police identify Frank R. James of Philadelphia as person of interest

New York, Apr 13: The New York Times said in a report that according to the New York City Fire Department, 13 people were injured, several by gunfire.

Police identified Frank R. James, 62, of Philadelphia as a person of interest in the case. They say James rented a U-Haul van that might be connected to the shooting.

"The police were seeking a man with a gas mask and an orange construction vest," the NYT report said, adding "they had also received reports of smoke inside the station." Media reports said the suspect was also carrying construction tools.

Police officers were called to the 36th Street subway station around 8:30 am, according to a Police Department spokeswoman.

The New York Daily News said in a report that a "gunman in a gas mask and an orange construction vest tossed a smoke bomb into a crowded southbound R train and then opened fire on passengers" early Tuesday, "shooting five people and injuring eight others."

The New York Daily News added that just around 8:30 am at the 25th St. station in Sunset Park, the suspect threw several smoke bombs into a train car as the doors of the subway closed and started firing.

As the train reached the 36th St. stop and doors of the train opened, the wounded commuters came out of the train "collapsed on the platform." Video footage of the incident posted on social media showed commuters coming out the train panicked and running as the station got engulfed in smoke. The New York Daily News report added that witnesses reported seeing wounded people, all adults, coming out of both the 36th St. and the 25th St. stations.

"I was heading into 36th Street Station in Brooklyn when a young guy who was bleeding from the legs said people were injured and bleeding," witness Conrad Aderer said in the report.