Suspect at large after 10 shot at Brooklyn subway station

Investigators in New York City are looking for a U-Haul that is allegedly connected to Tuesday’s Brooklyn subway shooting, according to internal NYPD emails viewed by CNN.

The emails do not spell how the van is connected to the shooting.

In the emails, top commanders shared a stock image of a white U-Haul cargo van asking officers to be on lookout for a similar van with an Arizona license plate #AL31408 that authorities believe is “connected with” the subway shooting in which 10 people were struck by gunfire.

The emails were widely sent to NYPD officers and detectives. In one directive, officers were instructed that if they come across the U-Haul van and it is occupied that they should “take extreme precautions” in attempting to stop it, adding that if the van is unoccupied to notify commanders.

According to another directive, officers are told that “if this vehicle is observed moving and occupied, conduct a traffic stop and detain occupants.”

U-Haul says it’s "working closely with authorities to ensure they have any and all available information" related to the search for a rental van and its possible connection to the shooting.

“Law enforcement has alerted us to its search for a rental van and its possible connection to a suspect in today’s incident in New York City,” Sebastien Reyes, U-Haul's vice president of communications, told CNN in a statement. “We are working closely with authorities to ensure they have any and all available information to meet their needs.” 

At least 29 people have been hospitalized in connection with the Brooklyn subway shooting, according to information provided to CNN by several local hospitals.

Twenty-one patients were admitted, and 10 have since been discharged, to NYU Langone Hospital-Brooklyn, spokesperson Lacy Scarmana told CNN. The injuries included gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation. Eleven remaining patients are in stable condition with non-life- threatening injuries, she said.

Five patients were admitted to Maimonides Medical Center, spokesperson Suzanne Tammaro told CNN. Three were treated for smoke inhalation and have since been released. Two patients with gunshot wounds remain hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

Three patients were admitted at New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, spokesperson Tony Chau said. One has a gunshot injury, one has a fracture, and one has a “non-trauma-related” injury. All three are in stable condition.

At a news conference earlier today, The FDNY said that they treated and transported 16 patients from the subway shooting. The additional people who were hospitalized likely went to the nearby hospitals on their own, an FDNY spokesperson said.  

Investigators have cell phone video from an eyewitness to the Brooklyn subway shooting that shows the suspect, a law enforcement source tells CNN.

The shooting suspect is still at large, officials say, and a manhunt is underway for a subway passenger who put on a gas mask, deployed a gas canister and then began shooting at commuters as a train pulled into the subway station on Tuesday, injuring at least 16 people.

The shooter, who fled the scene, was described as a 5-foot-5-inch Black man with a heavy build wearing a green construction vest and a gray hooded sweatshirt.

The FBI is working with the NYPD on the investigation and is following "every viable lead," said Michael J. Driscoll, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI New York Field Office.

CNN's Brynn Gingras, Pervaiz Shallwani, Mark Morales, Kristina Sgueglia and Eric Levenson contributed reporting to this post. 

NBA star Kevin Durant described the news of multiple people shot at a Brooklyn subway station as "devastating." Durant and his Brooklyn Nets teammates were arriving at the team's training facility on 39th Street when the incident occurred close by. 

On Tuesday morning, Durant was asked about the impact of the shooting. "It's devastating. I don't know too many details. To hear the sirens out front of the practice facility and see so much commotion going on outside, you hope and pray for the best for everybody involved," Durant said.

When asked about how he heard the news, the 12-time All-Star said, "(The team) sent us a text saying there might be some traffic (on the way into to facility) but I didn't know why and then you look through your phone and see stuff.

Nets head coach Steve Nash echoed Durant's feelings on Tuesday — "It's obviously a very tragic morning. We are devastated for the community and for those directly involved. I don't know a lot of the details so I don't want to get too far into it but we're just all concerned for everyone involved. And at the same time try to prepare and be focused on our task at hand the best we can."

The Nets are scheduled to host the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night at Barclays Center in the NBA's postseason play-in tournament.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams emphasized that the entire nation is witnessing a high level of violence, not only New York City. 

Adams once again touted that NYC has successfully taken 1,800 guns off the streets of New York City — 10% of which were ghost guns — in the first three and a half months into his administration. 

“This is a real herculean task and our police department is responding to every day,” the mayor said. “As I stated over and over again, there are many rivers that feed the sea of violence in our city and in our country — lets dam each one of them and some of that damming is going to come from assistance from the lawmakers throughout state and country," he said.

The mayor said the city needs assistance from lawmakers throughout state and country in empowering the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and from the legislature in making ghost guns illegal. 

Adams reiterated he’s put initiatives in place “to deal with some of the systemic, historical problems” the city has had in dealing with crime, but, “many of the people who are on our streets that are participating in dangerous acts, they have had a bottleneck in our court system. They are not serving their time in prison like they should be.”

Adams suggested NYC has a revolving door criminal justice system adding that “too many people who are known to participate in criminal actions are still on our streets.” 

A former transit police officer, Adams reassured the public that his administration is going to double the number of officers patrolling the subway system and will make sure police “actively and aggressively identify the person” involved in Tuesday’s incident. 

“I think that when you look at how miraculous this is, you have to really point to the passengers and the transit authority officials,” Adams said praising New Yorkers and the city’s transit system.

“New York has gone through a lot — from the 9/11 attacks, second time attack of the [World] Trade Center, to those who wanted to commit terrorism in our city and to those who do things that want to terrorize us,” Adams said. “We don't know what is the source of this incident yet, but I call on New Yorkers to continue to be as resilient as we have often been.”

After stabbings and other attacks in which people were pushed onto the tracks — one fatally in Times Square — Mayor Adams announced the city would be deploying 30 teams, including police and mental health experts, in high-need locations. The city would also seek to add more mental health professionals who could be deployed in nonviolent incidents and help enforce subway rules, said the mayor, a former transit and city policeman.

This followed an announcement from Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul in January, during which they promised to have officers inspect subway trains and stations more frequently. A separate plan aimed at ending rising gun violence in the city was also unveiled in January, with Adams saying the city was eyeing long-term goals of increasing economic opportunities, improving education and providing more access to mental health resources.

CNN's Eliott C. McLaughlin contributed reporting to this post. 

A gun was recovered in a subway station, where 10 people were shot during rush hour in Brooklyn Tuesday, two law enforcement sources tell CNN

Investigators have also recovered multiple high capacity magazines from the scene, three law enforcement officials say.

Two officials said they believe the gun jammed during the shooting.

Investigators also recovered fireworks and gunpowder at the scene of the Brooklyn subway shooting, two law enforcement sources say.

NYPD officials said at a news conference earlier Tuesday there is no known motive for the shooting at this time. They added they are “not ruling out anything” in terms of the investigation. 

The shooting suspect is still on the loose, officials said.

Earlier today, a man wearing a gas mask opened a canister, deployed the smoke and started shooting in a Brooklyn subway, striking multiple people, New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

A Manhattan-bound N train was waiting to enter the 36th Street subway at 8:24 a.m. ET, when a man wearing a gas mask took a canister out of his bag and opened it, Sewell said.

"The train at that time began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway and in the platform," she said, adding that there were no life-threatening injuries.

If you're just reading in now, here's what else you need to know:

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters traveling to Iowa with President Biden on Tuesday that the Biden administration will “assist through the appropriate channels” following a shooting in Brooklyn that left at least 10 shot in Brooklyn during rush hour.

Psaki said White House senior staff is in contact with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell, but the President has not yet spoken with Adams.

“Anything they need, anything they want, we are here to provide that to them,” she added.

Mass transit systems in the US are increasing patrols and asking the public to report anything unusual in the wake of the New York subway shooting.  

Here how several major systems tell CNN they are handling the situation: