Suspect at large after 10 shot at Brooklyn subway station

By Maureen Chowdhury, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Melissa Macaya, Mike Hayes and Veronica Rocha, CNN

Updated 9:57 p.m. ET, April 12, 2022
20 Posts
Sort byDropdown arrow
12:33 p.m. ET, April 12, 2022

10 people were shot in Brooklyn subway

Sixteen people were treated for injuries, including 10 for gunshot wounds, following the shooting in a Brooklyn subway station, said Laura Kavanagh, the acting FDNY commissioner, at today's briefing.

"Ten of those patients are suffering from gunshot wounds at this time and five are in stable, but critical condition," Kavanagh said.

Apart from gunshot wounds, injuries varied from smoke inhalation to shrapnel to panic from the shooting, she added.

There were no life-threatening injuries suffered during today's shooting, New York City Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell said.

12:29 p.m. ET, April 12, 2022

New York governor says there is an "active shooter situation" in NYC right now

An aerial view of the scene after multiple people were shot at a subway station in Brooklyn on April 12.
An aerial view of the scene after multiple people were shot at a subway station in Brooklyn on April 12. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul warned New Yorkers that a suspected gunman who shot multiple people on the subway on Tuesday morning is still at large.

"Tranquility and normalness was disrupted, brutally disrupted, by an individual so cold-hearted and depraved of heart that they had no caring about the individuals that they assaulted as they simply went about their daily lives. This individual is still on the loose. This person is dangerous," Hochul said.

The governor urged New Yorkers to remain vigilant.

"This is an active shooter situation right now in the city of New York," she said.

Hochul said she just spoke with New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has Covid-19.

"He's recovering well. He is monitoring, he's actively engaged in the situation. I wanted to let him know that the people of the entire state of New York stand with the people of this city, this community, and we say no more. No more mass shootings. No more disrupting lives. No more creating heartbreak for people just trying to live their lives as normal New Yorkers. It has to end and ends now," she said.

12:47 p.m. ET, April 12, 2022

Shooter donning gas mask opened canister before firing on Brooklyn subway, NYPD commissioner says

A man wearing a gas mask opened a canister, deployed the smoke and started shooting in a Brooklyn subway this morning, 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.

The commissioner confirmed that the shooting happened inside the subway car.

"The suspect was in the train car. The shooting began in the train car," Sewell said.

Sewell described the suspect as a Black male with a heavy build, wearing a green construction-type vest with a hooded gray sweatshirt.

Sewell said there was no known motive at this time.

"We do not know the motive at this time, but we're not ruling anything out," she said.

CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.

12:16 p.m. ET, April 12, 2022

Facebook activates Safety Check following Brooklyn subway shooting

From CNN’s Brian Fung

Facebook has established a crisis response page for users to mark themselves as safe following Tuesday's subway shooting in Brooklyn, New York.

The page describes the incident and lists offers of assistance from Facebook users. Facebook also enabled Safety Check, a feature it deploys during dangerous events such as a natural disaster or mass shooting. Safety Check allows users in the affected area to notify their friends that they are safe, and it also allows users to see if their friends in the area have marked themselves as safe.

CNN has reported that eight people were shot in connection with the Brooklyn subway shooting, and eight others were injured associated with the incident, according to FDNY spokesperson Amanda Farinacci.

CNN’s Kristina Sgueglia contributed reporting to this post.

12:06 p.m. ET, April 12, 2022

16 injured, including 8 shot, in Brooklyn subway shooting, FDNY says

From CNN's Kristina Sgueglia

(Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)
(Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)

Eight people were shot and eight others were injured following a shooting at a Brooklyn subway this morning, according to FDNY spokesperson Amanda Farinacci.

An MTA spokesperson provided more clarity about the train's trajectory, telling CNN the passengers were on a Manhattan bound N train making express stops.

The train was making express stops at the 59th Street stop prior to the 36th Street station stop, where multiple people were discovered shot.

Watch video from inside one of the train cars:

11:38 a.m. ET, April 12, 2022

SOON: NYPD will hold a briefing on the Brooklyn subway shooting

(Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)
(Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell and other NYPD executives will brief the media at 11:30 a.m. ET “regarding an incident in transit,” they said in a press release.

Multiple people were shot and 13 people were taken to the hospital after an incident at a Brooklyn subway station this morning, the FDNY said. There are no active explosive devices at the scene, according to the NYPD. The FDNY reported earlier that “several undetonated devices” were found.

Residents were asked to avoid the area of 36th Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn "due to an investigation."

11:22 a.m. ET, April 12, 2022

Witness says there was "just a lot of panic" as smoke engulfed Brooklyn subway car

(Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)
(Angela Weiss/AFP/Getty Images)

An eyewitness who said he was in the subway car where the Brooklyn shooting took place described the chaos at the scene, saying he saw a lot of blood on the floor and that gunshots sounded like fireworks.

The subway conductor said the train was delayed due to train traffic minutes before the train got to the 36th Street platform in Sunset Park, according to Yav Montano, and that's when smoke suddenly engulfed the car.

He then heard "what I thought was fireworks but now hearing that it was gunshots and I'm thankful I hid behind one of the chairs. ... I honestly have no words for what I've experienced."

"I was in the front end of the third car and everything happened at the back end of the same car. ... As soon as the smoke, like, flared up, it started to engulf everything. People started migrating to the front of the car," he told CNN.

Multiple people were found shot upon arrival to a call for a smoke condition at the 36th Street and 4th Avenue subway station at approximately 8:30 a.m. ET Tuesday, according to the New York City Fire Department. The New York City Police Department said there are no active explosive devices "at this time" at the subway station, where multiple people were shot. “Several undetonated devices” were found earlier, according to the FDNY.

Montano said a rider tried to open the car door connecting to a separate car, but he could not open it.

"There was blood on the floor. There was a lot of blood trailing on the floor. And at the time in the moment, I did not think it was a shooting because it sounded like fireworks. All I saw was people trampling each other, trampling over each other, trying to get into the door which was locked and just a lot of panic, but thankfully, the train moved quickly to the next stop and everyone filed off the train in a rush," he said.

He had a mask on in the train, but he couldn't use it anymore because it was "black with smoke."

He estimated about 40 to 50 people were in the subway car with him. Montano said he tried to hide and make space for an elderly woman near him. She "even handed me her little pepper spray from her purse just in case something happened. She gave it to me out of her purse and said use it just in case," he said.

He recorded a short video, but a man next to him advised him to put his phone away.

Montano said he is now at work in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Watch his interview with CNN:

11:11 a.m. ET, April 12, 2022

New York congressman says he's in touch with FBI about shooting

New York Rep. Jerry Nadler tweeted that he is "closely monitoring" the Brooklyn subway shooting and is communicating with the FBI.

See the tweet:

11:02 a.m. ET, April 12, 2022

Here's where the Brooklyn subway shooting happened

Today's shooting at a Brooklyn, New York, subway station happened during rush hour. Multiple people were shot and 13 people were injured, the FDNY said.

Residents were asked to avoid the area of 36th Street and 4th Avenue near where the shooting occurred.

Here's a look at where the shooting happened: