NYPD and mayor announce 'person of interest' in subway shooting is now the lone suspect

• The "person of interest" in the Brooklyn subway mass shooting has now been upgraded to a "suspect," officials said Wednesday.
• Frank R. James has been deemed the suspect in Tuesday's shooting that left 10 struck by gunfire, said NYC Mayor Eric Adams and the NYPD.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams and the New York Police Department announced on Wednesday that the "person of interest" in the Brooklyn subway mass shooting has now been upgraded to a "suspect" in the case.

Adams broke the news on WNYC radio, saying that 62-year-old Frank R. James is the apparent lone suspect in Tuesday's shooting aboard an N train, which left 10 people hit by gunfire and more than a dozen others injured.

Shortly after Adams' comments, the NYPD said in a tweet that James "fired numerous gun shots inside an 'N' line subway car" as it pulled into the 36th Street station in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn during Tuesday morning rush hour.

Police are continuing to search for James, who they say fled the scene after the shooting.

Adams said on MSNBC on Wednesday morning that "there is no evidence that indicates at this time that there was an accomplice" and that "it appears" that the shooting suspect "was operating alone."

The gunman in the subway shooting wore a gas mask and detonated two smoke grenades moments before he opened fire on the Manhattan-bound train at around 8:30 a.m., causing pandemonium, NYPD officials said on Tuesday.

The suspect fired 33 times with a Glock 17 9mm handgun, authorities said. Five of the 10 people shot were critically wounded, but miraculously there were no life-threatening injuries, officials said.

Police recovered the handgun, three extended magazines, and a hatchet at the scene, as well as gasoline, fireworks, and a key to a U-Haul that authorities said was rented by James.

Authorities located the U-Haul cargo van for the key on Kings Highway in Brooklyn.

James, who police say has ties to New York City, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Ohio, was initially identified by the NYPD as a "person of interest" in the shooting on Tuesday evening.

It has emerged that James previously posted YouTube videos complaining about the rise of subway crimes in New York City and blaming Adams for them, among other topics.