Mass shooting in Brooklyn subway station

[repoman]

The video of him talking in his car gives no hints of his violent potential - if it was him...

 

[southernhybrid]

A man who the police said was a suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting, Frank R. James, was taken into custody on Wednesday, more than 24 hours into the expansive search that erupted after a gunman shot at least 10 people in a train station.

Mayor Eric Adams confirmed in a news conference Wednesday afternoon that Mr. James had been apprehended.

“We got him,” Mr. Adams said. “We got him.”

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/04/13/nyregion/brooklyn-subway-shooting

Mr. James had a significant criminal history, officials said, including nine prior arrests in New York, mostly for misdemeanors and three arrests in New Jersey.

Officials said that he had left the N train where the shooting had taken place and boarded a local train, the R train, that several of his victims had also fled to. He exited the subway system at 25th Street and managed to evade law enforcement for more than 24 hours.

The development on Wednesday represents a significant step in the investigation into the Sunset Park shooting, which left at least 23 people injured. Officials said Mr. James was the man who, wearing a construction worker’s helmet and vest and a gas mask, had thrown two smoke grenades on the floor of an N train and unleashed a barrage of gunfire into the car around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

He escaped the scene, but the police discovered an array of belongings on the train that he appeared to have left behind, including a Glock 9-millimeter handgun, three ammunition magazines, a credit card with Mr. James’s name on it and a key to a U-Haul van.

The motive behind the attack remained unclear on Wednesday.

But Mr. James appeared to have maintained a significant online presence in recent years, posting dozens of videos on social media. Some were featured on a YouTube channel belonging to the username prophetoftruth88, from which the police obtained a screenshot of him to release to the public. In at least one post, the man in the video identified himself as Frank James.

In the recordings, many of them between 20 and 50 minutes in length, the man offered lengthy tirades, often on subjects of race, violence and his personal life.

He disparaged Black people and particularly Black women. And he recently criticized Mr. Adams for his policies focusing on homeless people and safety in the subway system.

The guy sounds like a real nut. He's racist against his own people. There are so many seriously messed up people in the world. It does make me wonder more about what his childhood was like, was he ever treated for mental illness, did he ever have a decent job, etc. Was he looking for attention or did he just hate everyone? It's just difficult to understand what makes some people tick. It's good that they found him so quickly, all things considered.

 

[thebeave]

The guy sounds like a real nut. He's racist against his own people. There are so many seriously messed up people in the world.

People who are racist against their own people are a dime a dozen on this forum. Well, the white ones anyway. That doesn't mean they're nuts, though I can think of a few who are tap dancing on that line between sane and nuttery.

 

[southernhybrid]

The guy sounds like a real nut. He's racist against his own people. There are so many seriously messed up people in the world.

People who are racist against their own people are a dime a dozen on this forum. Well, the white ones anyway. That doesn't mean they're nuts, though I can think of a few who are tap dancing on that line between sane and nuttery.

I agree that hating your own kind doesn't necessarily mean you're nuts, but there are lots of other reasons why the shooter sounds nuts. It just always arouses my curiosity when someone commits such a terrible crime. It makes me wonder what the influences were in the man's life that made him what he is.

 

[TomC]

It makes me wonder what the influences were in the man's life that made him what he is.

Every now and then, @Gospel and I toy with the idea of a thread discussing that in a broad way.
Not any particular person, but much more broadly than this or that individual. I don't much care to discuss individuals like this, largely because I sincerely mistrust any media accounts. Too many people with agendas producing reports that aren't very accurate, much less complete.

A big picture sort of discussion.
Tom

 

[southernhybrid]

It makes me wonder what the influences were in the man's life that made him what he is.

Every now and then, @Gospel and I toy with the idea of a thread discussing that in a broad way.
Not any particular person, but much more broadly than this or that individual. I don't much care to discuss individuals like this, largely because I sincerely mistrust any media accounts. Too many people with agendas producing reports that aren't very accurate, much less complete.

A big picture sort of discussion.
Tom

We should have that discussion one day. I agree it doesn't need to be about individuals. The reason I've avoided starting one is because then we will get into free will and that usually ends up being a nightmare. But, I do personally believe that we are all victims or benefactors of both our genetic and environmental influences. In other words, we have very little control over how we end up. Since I'm off topic, I'll leave it at that, but if you guys ever start that discussion, I'll participate.

 

[Derec]

The guy sounds like a real nut. He's racist against his own people.

How do you figure that? From what I have seen, he was a black nationalist type.

Frank R. James, Brooklyn Suspect: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Heavy has confirmed that Frank James had a Facebook page in the name Frank Whitaker. The page contains images of guns and describes Black nationalism as “black unity,” in addition to criticizing former President Donald Trump and posting about racism.

Media downplays accused Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James’ hatred of whites

In one video, he says “what happened in Europe with the Jews” could happen to blacks in America. He suggests that Russia’s war on Ukraine is a prelude to using nuclear weapons to wipe out black people. “Ultimately at the end of the day, they kill and commit genocide against each other. What do you think they gonna do to your black ass?”
He concludes that “white people and black people, as we call ourselves, should not have any contact with each other.”
[...]
Just as they did with Darrell Brooks, the man charged with driving through a Wisconsin Christmas parade, the press is eager to bury a black suspect’s anti-white statements and ignore them as a possible motivation.

 

[Gun Nut]

If I were a betting mxn, I’d wager the back story is multiple prior arrests and recently let go with NY’s no bail law.

He was from Pennsylvania and traveled to NYC specifically to shoot people on the subway. Your bias just cost you a bet... some day it may cost you your freedom, like the 1/6 er's.

 

[southernhybrid]

The guy sounds like a real nut. He's racist against his own people.

How do you figure that? From what I have seen, he was a black nationalist type.

Frank R. James, Brooklyn Suspect: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Heavy has confirmed that Frank James had a Facebook page in the name Frank Whitaker. The page contains images of guns and describes Black nationalism as “black unity,” in addition to criticizing former President Donald Trump and posting about racism.

Media downplays accused Brooklyn subway shooter Frank James’ hatred of whites

In one video, he says “what happened in Europe with the Jews” could happen to blacks in America. He suggests that Russia’s war on Ukraine is a prelude to using nuclear weapons to wipe out black people. “Ultimately at the end of the day, they kill and commit genocide against each other. What do you think they gonna do to your black ass?”
He concludes that “white people and black people, as we call ourselves, should not have any contact with each other.”
[...]
Just as they did with Darrell Brooks, the man charged with driving through a Wisconsin Christmas parade, the press is eager to bury a black suspect’s anti-white statements and ignore them as a possible motivation.

From what I read about him, he hated most everyone, especially black women. I read about his hatred of white people too. It was in the New York Times, so the media didn't cover up his hatred of white people. Like I said, he hated most everyone. He was totally irrational. I doubt he ever had a friend. His neighbors said he was very unfriendly and gruff. Who would want to have a relationship with someone as gruff and hateful as him? And, nobody in their right mind acts as nutty as this guy, even if he never sought help. His rants were all over the place. They didn't make sense. One of his arrests was for some type of sexual crime, no details were provided in the article I read.

There are lots of undiagnosed nutty people walking around, and sadly some live in denial or can't find the help they need. Someone like this one needs to be taken off the street, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have symptoms of a or many mental illnesses. There are over 700 psychiatric diagnosis, some are very minor personality issues. I'm sure that he has at least a few of them, but then again, maybe most of us have a few as well. We just don't go rant on YouTube or make plans to shoot people or blow things up. Im just glad they found him so quickly and that nobody that was shot died. There's really nothing more that need to be said, imo.

 

[Trausti]

If I were a betting mxn, I’d wager the back story is multiple prior arrests and recently let go with NY’s no bail law.

He was from Pennsylvania and traveled to NYC specifically to shoot people on the subway. Your bias just cost you a bet... some day it may cost you your freedom, like the 1/6 er's.

Well. Split the difference. Got the multiple prior arrests.

 

[Gospel]

If I were a betting mxn, I’d wager the back story is multiple prior arrests and recently let go with NY’s no bail law.

He was from Pennsylvania and traveled to NYC specifically to shoot people on the subway. Your bias just cost you a bet... some day it may cost you your freedom, like the 1/6 er's.

Well. Split the difference. Got the multiple prior arrests.

No dice. The sentence would require the and/or operators to achieve multiple conditions. You only used the word and. As such you lose; good day sir.