The suspect named in Brooklyn’s subway shooting has been taken into custody according to reports from CNN.
After being on the run for more than 24 hours, 62-year-old Frank James was arrested after authorities named him as the prime suspect in Tuesday’s (April 12) attack. He allegedly went undercover as a construction worker before shooting 10 people and leaving another 19 injured during the morning rush hour on a Brooklyn subway.
As details surrounding the incident continue to unfold, the suspect’s sister, Catherine James Robinson, confirmed his age, that James was born in the Bronx in 1959 and that he has never stayed in one place for too long, often moving from city to city.
She also mentioned that despite it being years since the two saw each other in person she was “surprised” to see him named as a suspect in the shooting.
“I don’t think he would do anything like that,” said Robinson in an interview with the NY Times. “That’s not in his nature to do anything like that.”
An intensive manhunt for James began after he was believed to have rented the U-Haul van recovered in Brooklyn. The keys to the vehicle were found at the scene where the suspect is said to have put on a gas mask, deployed a gas canister, and opened fire. Authorities have confirmed that a total of 33 shots were fired.
While police have been working to track James down for hours, they did manage to uncover evidence that pointed to the suspect through videos posted to YouTube and Facebook.
One video posted on March 18 showed James picking up a Penske van with plans to leave Milwaukee the next day. An additional video shared two days later included James on the road detailing plans to move to Philadelphia.
“On the drive, I’m just thinking because I’m heading back into the danger zone, so to speak, and it’s triggering a lot of negative thoughts, of course, because I do suffer from – have a bad case of post-traumatic stress from all the things I’ve been through,” said James in the video.
When asked if her brother had ever struggled with mental health, Robinson noted that he was not mentally ill, but that “there was a lot that went on” throughout their lives.
While none of the two dozen people hurt during Tuesday’s shooting have injuries that are life-threatening, reports suggest that it may be a long road to recovery for most of the victims.