Gunfire rang out during rush hour on the New York City subway. At least 16 people were injured.
At least 16 people were injured on Tuesday morning when gunfire rang out during rush hour on the New York City subway, sparking chaos. Explosive devices were found at the scene, police and firefighters said. Photos and amateur videos showed pools of blood and people lying on the floor of a subway train, as well as on the platform of the "36th Street" station, in the borough of Brooklyn, in a smoky atmosphere. Another video shows crowds exiting smoky subway cars at the 36th street station, amid shouts but no jostling.
At least one person among the sixteen injured in the shooting is in serious condition, reports the American channel CNN. Several schools in Brooklyn have immediately canceled all outings of their students.
A fire department spokesman said "undetonated explosive devices" had been found. According to a police tweet, "there are no operable explosive devices at this time."
An important security device was deployed at 36th Street and 4th Avenue, in southern Brooklyn, where the facts occurred. According to multiple media outlets, including NBC New York and the New York Times, police are looking for a man wearing a gas mask and an orange jumpsuit like those worn by construction workers in the megacity of nearly 9 million people. , the largest city in the United States.
The shootings are not currently being "investigated for an act of terrorism", said city police chief Keechant Sewell. "This is not being investigated for an act of terrorism, at this stage. We can also say that although this was a violent act, we don't have anyone with prognostic injuries. life at stake," the New York police chief said at a press conference in Brooklyn above the subway station where the shootings took place.
"As the train pulled into the station, the individual put on a gas mask. He then opened a canister that was in his bag and the (metro) car filled with smoke. After that he started to shoot," Keechant Sewell said. A senior New York fire official, Laura Kavanagh, added that 10 of the 16 people injured were shot.
Biden informed
President Joe Biden, who announced new anti-gun measures on Monday, has been notified of the shooting and the White House has offered assistance to authorities in New York, executive spokeswoman Jen said. Psaki.
"At 8:27 a.m., police received an emergency call from a person who was shot on the subway" in Brooklyn, a NYPD spokeswoman said, asking the public to avoid the area. According to a spokesman for the fire department, there were "several shots", smoke and "13 people were injured".
New York State Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul said she was monitoring the situation and was being kept informed of the investigation into the event. The attack came as New York City has faced a spike in crime since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Elected on security promises, the new Democratic mayor of New York, Eric Adams, launched a plan to fight against the proliferation of firearms at the end of January, after the death of two police officers shot dead during an intervention. But other gun dramas have made headlines since. For the first quarter of 2022 - from January 1 to early April - the number of shootings and shootings in New York City increased from 260 to 296 compared to the same period of 2021, according to NYPD figures released last week.