At Least 10 People Shot, 29 Injured, and Explosives Found in Brooklyn Subway

New York City’s rush hour erupted in violent chaos Tuesday morning when an unidentified assailant wearing a gas mask cracked open a smoke canister and then shot at least 10 passengers inside a subway car. 

The attack, which injured a total of 29 people, ranks among the most violent moments in the NYC subway system’s history. In addition to gunshot wounds, some injuries were from inhaling unhealthy amounts of smoke as people ran in a panic for the 36th Street station’s exit in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood. 

Officials say they haven’t determined the motive or the identity of the attacker yet, but he’s been described as a 5-foot-5-inch Black man wearing a green construction worker–style vest. Police are also searching for a U-Haul van with Arizona license plates featuring the numbers AL31408, multiple outlets reported.

A gun was also recovered at the scene, CNN reported, citing a law enforcement source.

A massive manhunt has been launched for the suspect, and local schools have gone into lockdown.

“This individual is still on the loose; this person is dangerous,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told reporters at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. “This is an active-shooter situation right now in the city of New York.” 

Several “undetonated” explosive devices were also found at the scene, according to the FDNY, but officials later said they don’t believe any remain inside the subway.

“There are currently no known explosive devices on our subway trains, and this is not being investigated as an act of terrorism at this time,” New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters. 

The attack unfolded around 8:24 a.m. inside a train traveling on the N line that was approaching the 36th Street station, a typically busy hub for commuters on weekday mornings.

Witnesses described a nightmarish scene as victims scrambled to escape from the subway car where the attack was happening as gunshots rang out and swirling, gray smoke filled the air. 

Images posted on Twitter from the 36th Street station also show wounded people lying on the platform and streaks of blood across the subway station floor. 

One man, who said he was riding on the subway train at the time, described hearing explosions in the car next to his and saw the compartment filling up with what appeared to be smoke, according to an interview broadcast on CNN. He said passengers inside the car attempted to open the door between the cars to enter into his compartment but could not. 

“There were people just panicking, focusing on getting out, trying to push themselves out,” the man, who gave his name as Yav Montano, told CNN. “It was terrible.” 

Moments later the train, which had paused before entering the station when the attack broke out, started up again and soon arrived at the station, Montano said. At that point, passengers scrambled through the open doors onto the platform, he said.  

An audio recording from a firsthand witness posted by Gothamist described a frantic scene in which individuals attempted to flee. Juliana Fonda, a broadcast engineer at the radio station WNYC, said she was riding the N train when she heard shots in the next subway car, Gothamist tweeted. 

“There were a lot of loud pops, and there was smoke in the other car,” she said. “People were trying to get in and they couldn’t. They were pounding on the door to get into our car.” 

When the train got to the 36th Street station, she said she saw people lying in the station who had been shot, and smoke wafting through the air. 

Police, plainclothes cops, and first responders flooded the scene in the wake of the attack, totaling roughly 100 officials, according to an estimate by a VICE News reporter. The emergency vehicles stretched for nearly 10 blocks.

Local residents said they were shocked by the outburst of violence in a relatively peaceful neighborhood. 

“Really, really scary,” a Sunset Park resident named Tim O’Donnell, 31, told VICE News. O’Donnell said he was on the subway when the attack occurred, although he only learned of the shooting after he emerged above ground. “When I got out of the subway car, I saw someone who had their leg injured. It was evident that something was wrong. I got above ground [and] saw a lot of the fire trucks.” 

Five people are in critical condition, although none of the victims’ injuries are currently considered to be life-threatening, officials said. Victims have been transported to the NYU Langone and Methodist Hospitals, the fire department said. 

Tess Owen contributed to this report.