New York City was witness to another horrifying shooting spree on Tuesday, April 12th. The incident was even more alarming because it took place in the confines of an NYC metro car in Brooklyn borough. Several innocent passengers were injured in the course of the shooting, however, the perpetrator managed to escape.
Nevertheless, there were stories of bravery shining through the tragic story. One example is Hourari Benkada, a 27-year-old victim. Hourari, despite the utter panic at the moment, chose to protect a pregnant co-passenger sitting opposite him. Unfortunately, he got shot for his efforts.
Benkada’s Traumatic NYC Train Ride
CNN took the chance to interview Benkada about his horrifying experience on the ill-fated NYC train.[1] He recalls: “I was on 59th Street on the ART train transferring to the N train on 59th. It was the first car, last seats.”
According to official reports, the gunman had opened fire a little time after the N train departed the 59th street stop. Till that moment, it was just another day for Benkada so he was not too aware of anyone else on the train. Benkada is a manager of housekeeping at the New Yorker Hotel.
According to his interview on Yahoo!, the gunman had sat right beside Benkada. He further clarified that the perpetrator was masked up. As the train departed the station, Benkada reports that the man detonated a “smoke bomb”. A scene straight out of a film followed: heavy smoke filled up the NYC car, and people tried to get to the back as quickly as possible.
Benkada remembers hearing 10 shots. In his interview with CNN, he said: “I think the gun jammed. I think he had an extended clip or something because I’ve never heard that many shots come off a handgun.” He was terrified. But even in that situation, Benkada spotted a pregnant woman in front of her. He only wanted to help her. At that point, he was still unaware that someone was firing indiscriminately. He simply kept hugging the pregnant women.
This is when he felt a push and then the “worst pain of my entire life”. He got shot at the back of his knee.
Who Was The Gunman?
Benkada remembers that the NYC train was one of the old-fashioned ones. This means that switching cars was not possible. In his CNN interview, the terror of the incident was still clearly visible.
Even though the gunman managed to escape, authorities suspect Frank James, a 62-year-old, as a particularly important suspect. There was quite a lot of evidence present at the scene of the crime which included a credit card with James’ name. There were keys to a U-Haul storage unit in the name of James.[3] Furthermore, the authorities thoroughly combed all the surveillance tapes in the area from nearby stores.
In the end, they arrested Frank James on April 13th from East Village. Police found further a possible motive for James’ shooting spree from his YouTube channel. There, he had talked extensively about his life, violence, race, and his dissatisfaction with the NYC mayor Eric Adams’ homelessness policies.
In a video, James had reportedly revealed that he was diagnosed with a mental illness. However, he was also angry at NYC’s horrific mental health services. In another video, James claimed that he was “heading back into the danger zone”. He further claimed to be having “negative thoughts” because of the situation. James said: “…I do suffer from – have a bad case of post-traumatic stress from all the things I’ve been through.”
Catherine James Robinson, Frank’s sister, said that James did not suffer from any mental illnesses. However, she clarified that Frank had “been on his own his whole life.” She did not have much contact with her brother. She was of the opinion that such a horrendous crime was not in Frank’s nature.
Reports say that James shot 10 people at least and 23 passengers had suffered injuries in the ensuing chaos. There have been no specifics about the charges that the police will level against James.
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Sources
- “He sat next to the alleged NYC subway shooter. Survivor details moment from hospital bed.” CNN.
- “Man shot in Brooklyn subway attack says he ‘hugged’ a pregnant woman to protect her.” Yahoo. Stephen Proctor. April 13, 2022
- “Who Reported the Suspect? Claims Abound.” NY Times.
- “Frank James, suspect in Brooklyn subway shooting, discussed violence in YouTube clips.” NBC News. Marlene Lenthang. April 13, 2022.