NEW YORK (AP) — As the year began, New Yorkers shuddered at a subway crime straight out of an urban nightmare: the death of a woman pushed onto the tracks by a disturbed stranger. The city’s new mayor promised to “make sure New Yorkers feel safe on our subway system.”
But riders Tuesday morning faced an attack that evoked the deepest fears of many cyclists. A rush hour train car was filled with smoke as it pulled into a Brooklyn station. Shots were heard, at least 33 of them, injuring at least 10 people.
The frightened horsemen fled, as did the gunman, who was still at large Wednesday.
Much is still unknown about the attack, including whether it was an act of terrorism. At a news conference Tuesday night, authorities said they were looking for 62-year-old Frank R. James, who they say rented a van in connection with the shooting.
It was a searing reminder of the city’s relentless battle against gun violence and the specter of terrorist attacks hanging over New York City, and in particular the subway system that is the backbone of transportation.
Police and security officials have made many attempts to fortify the city against such attacks, posting officers on trains and platforms, installing cameras and even spot-checking passengers entering some stations for weapons.
Yet the sprawling system, with nearly 500 stations, remains much like city streets: too big to protect and too busy to fully secure.
Public officials say the subway system is crucial to the city’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, which caused many New Yorkers to avoid public transportation during its height. Typical daily subway ridership fell from 5.5 million riders to less than a tenth of that.
But as more people return to the offices, the number of passengers increases. On Monday, estimated ridership was 3.1 million, according to the MTA, which operates the system.
With the gunman still on the loose, travelers like Julia Brown had no choice but to keep riding the rails.
“It’s the only way to get home, other than the express bus and then another bus and then another bus,” Brown, who works in Manhattan, said just hours after the attack. “I survived 9/11. I experienced the blackout. You just have to be as safe as possible and be aware of your surroundings.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul posted a photo on social media showing her riding a train after the shooting, and Mayor Eric Adams vowed to keep fighting to make the system safe.
“We are going to double our patrol force,” the mayor told CBS News on Tuesday.
Even before the attack, the mayor had promised to increase subway patrols and raid subway and train stations to remove homeless people who use them as shelter.
In a rambling video posted on YouTube, James replayed recent speeches by Adams and Hochul and derided their efforts to tackle violence as weak and futile.
“Your plan is doomed to fail,” James said in the video.
In the 1980s, New York City’s subways were a symbol of urban disorder: covered in graffiti, riddled with crime, and shunned by tourists.
However, like the rest of the city, the Downworlders have since cleaned up their act. Before COVID-19 arrived, the main problem on trains was not crime but overcrowding and breakdowns related to aging infrastructure.
After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, New Yorkers learned to live with the worry that the subway or other parts of the city might be a terrorist target.
In 2017, an Islamic State group sympathizer detonated a homemade bomb strapped to his chest in a subway station near the Port Authority Bus Terminal, injuring several bystanders.
That same year, the city began expanding the use of sidewalk barriers to block vehicles after two attacks. In one, a man prosecutors say also supported ISIS drove a rented truck down a bike path along the Hudson River, killing eight people and maiming others. In another, a psychologically disturbed man drove a car at high speed into pedestrians in Times Square, killing one and injuring at least 20.
In 2016, a man prosecutors say was sympathetic to Osama bin Laden detonated pipe bombs in Manhattan and New Jersey, injuring some bystanders, before being captured in a shootout with police. And in 2010, a man tried to blow up a car bomb in Times Square, but failed.
Christopher Herrmann, a former city police officer who is now a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said episodes like Tuesday’s will spark a new round of anxiety, especially among subway riders.
“With 9/11, you have a specific target: the World Trade Center,” Herrmann said. “A lot of people can understand that.”
But the apparent randomness of Tuesday’s attack “really invokes a lot of fear and concern,” he said, “because most people don’t see themselves as a target.”
Some subway riders expressed concern, while others shrugged it off as an everyday hazard.
Alexi Vizhnay considered boarding a ferry across the East River after work on Tuesday, but decided to take a chance on the subway. It was simply the most efficient way to get home to Queens.
“There are a lot of things that happen outside of your control,” he said. “As tragic as it is, all I can do is remind myself to be vigilant and cautious.”
By Wednesday morning, the station where the shot-up train stopped had reopened and passengers were back on the road.
“You have to be more aware of your surroundings. But scared? No,” said Ana Marrero, who has taken the subway to work for 30 years. “You think about the tragedy and the people who were hurt, but you have no choice and you do what you have to do.”
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Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Jim Mustian, Michael R. Sisak, Seth Wenig and Joseph B. Frederick contributed to this report.
Reference-www.wivb.com