NYC subway shooter Frank James pleads guilty to wounding 10 on train
The deranged gunman who opened fire on a packed subway train, shooting 10 commuters and sparking a terror underground that left several more injured, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to the gruesome attack.
Frank James, 63, spoke in a matter-of-fact tone as he admitted in Brooklyn federal court that he had wanted to seriously injure commuters when he shot up the Manhattan-bound N train on April 12, 2022.
“My intention was to cause serious bodily injury to the people on the train,” James said, appearing relaxed and unemotional during the hearing.
The cold-blooded creep last month indicated through his attorneys that he intended to cop to 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack or other violence against a mass transportation system — one for each gunshot victim — and one count of discharging a firearm filed against him in a superseding indictment.
He faces life in prison when he is sentenced at a later date.
“This guilty plea is an important step towards holding James fully accountable and helping the victims of the defendant’s violence and our great city heal,” said US Attorney Breon Peace in a statement.
Federal prosecutors said James had murder on his mind when he traveled to Brooklyn from an Airbnb in Philadelphia and boarded the subway with a smoke bomb, gas mask and Glock 17 handgun he legally purchased in Ohio.
As the train moved between the 59th Street and 36th Street stations, the smoke bomb in James’ bag went off, authorities said.
James — disguised in an orange reflective jacket and yellow hard hat to look like an MTA worker — then donned a mask and opened fire.
No one was killed. In addition to the 10 people shot, many others suffered from smoke inhalation or other injuries as the platform at the 36th Street station turned into a bloody mess strewn with bodies.
In court Tuesday, James denied that he had intended to kill.
“Although it was not my intention to cause death, I was fully aware that death or deaths could occur as a result of me discharging a firearm in such an enclosed space as a subway car,” he said.
Prosecutors denied the claim, saying they would have made the case against him had it gone to trial.
“The government would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant fired with the intent to kill,” Assistant US Attorney Sara Winik said. “The defendant intended to inflict maximum damage at the height of rush hour.”
James began planning the attack as early as 2017 and started buying smoke grenades, ammunition and weapons, as well as his disguise, prosecutors said.
In the months leading up to the attack, his online searches included “MTA,” “New York,” “transit” and “stops on the N train, according to the feds. His social media presence included videos foreshadowing his plans, including one in which he stated that, “If you hear the name Frank James on the news … chances are that’s me.”
James fled following the shooting and was only captured after a 30-hour manhunt that ended when he called Crime Stoppers on himself.
James’ attorneys blasted the potential life sentence that “would vastly exceed [his] natural life.”
The “requested punishment serves no legitimate sentencing purpose,” they said in a statement.
A spokesman for the MTA praised prosecutors for bringing James to justice.
“The victims of this reprehensible attack deserved and received justice,” MTA communications director Tim Minton said. “As we recall the transit workers who assisted riders to safety that terrible day and security cameras that helped investigators rapidly catch the suspect, we hope this perpetrator will never again be free to hurt innocent people.”
Additional reporting by Ben Feuerherd