A rush-hour attack on a New York City subway train wounded 10 people by gunfire and injured 13 others through smoke inhalation, falls and panic this week, setting off an intensive manhunt that ended the following day with the arrest of 62-year-old Frank James in Manhattan.

New York police said the attack began at about 8:24 a.m. Tuesday on a Manhattan-bound N train approaching the 36th Street station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. According to the city’s official briefing, the gunman opened two smoke canisters and fired a Glock 9-millimeter handgun at least 33 times inside the train car. Ten passengers were struck by bullets. Thirteen additional people suffered injuries associated with smoke, falls or panic. Police said that evening that none of the injuries appeared life-threatening.

By Wednesday, federal prosecutors had filed a criminal complaint accusing James of conducting a violent attack against a mass-transportation system. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said the charge carries a maximum potential sentence of life imprisonment if he is convicted. The complaint is an allegation, and James is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Smoke, gunfire and a crowded train

Investigators said the attacker was wearing a construction-style vest, hard hat and surgical mask as the train moved between the 59th Street and 36th Street stations. Witnesses described smoke filling the car before gunfire erupted. Police recovered 33 discharged shell casings, bullets and fragments, a Glock 17 handgun, extended magazines, detonated and undetonated smoke devices, a hatchet, gasoline and other items.

The combination of smoke and a confined subway car multiplied the danger. Passengers moved through the train and onto the platform while the train continued into the station. Images and videos from the scene showed commuters helping wounded passengers and applying pressure to injuries before emergency personnel arrived.

The NYPD’s public notice identified James as wanted in connection with firing numerous shots inside the subway car and seriously injuring 10 victims. The notice became part of a citywide effort to locate him as federal, state and local agencies joined the search.

Evidence at the scene quickly produced a name

A key break came from a U-Haul key recovered among items left behind. Detectives traced the key to a rental van found in Brooklyn and identified James as the person who had rented it in Philadelphia. Investigators also traced the handgun, which federal prosecutors said James had purchased in Ohio.

Police initially described James as a person of interest while they worked to establish his connection to the shooting. By Wednesday morning, officials were publicly calling him the suspect and asking New Yorkers to report sightings. Associated Press reporting carried by NY1 described a manhunt stretching across the city as officers searched transit stations, streets and locations connected to James.

Law enforcement also examined videos James had posted online before the attack. Federal prosecutors said some contained comments about New York’s subway system, homelessness and violence. Those statements are part of the investigative record, but authorities have not announced a definitive motive for the attack.

The arrest came without another violent confrontation

James was arrested Wednesday afternoon in Manhattan after roughly 30 hours of police work. The Department of Justice said officers took him into custody without incident. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said in a statement on the case that federal prosecutors would work with the FBI, NYPD, ATF and other agencies as the investigation continued.

CBS News chronicled the rapid sequence from the Tuesday attack through the public search and Wednesday arrest. Police credited tips from New Yorkers as an important part of locating James, while investigators continued processing evidence in New York and Pennsylvania.

The speed of the arrest does not end the legal process. Prosecutors must prove the charge beyond a reasonable doubt, and the defense will have the opportunity to challenge evidence and the government’s theory of the case. The federal statute invoked by prosecutors applies specifically to attacks on mass transportation, reflecting the broader public-safety consequences of violence in systems used by large numbers of commuters.

The attack tests confidence in public transit

The shooting struck at the center of New York’s transportation system just as ridership is recovering from pandemic-era lows. Millions of residents depend on subways and buses, and an attack inside a moving train presents a distinctive challenge because passengers have few ways to leave until the train reaches a station.

Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell emphasized both the scale of the law-enforcement response and the fact that the injuries were not worse. The mayor called the shooting part of a broader national problem of gun violence, while transit officials faced immediate questions about cameras, emergency communications and police deployment.

The Washington Post reported that the incident disrupted multiple subway lines and brought a massive emergency response to Sunset Park. The attack also renewed scrutiny of public safety in New York’s transit system, where officials have already increased police presence and expanded initiatives aimed at homelessness and serious mental illness.

A criminal case now replaces the manhunt

The central public-safety crisis of the week has shifted from finding a suspect to establishing what happened and why. Investigators have a firearm, physical evidence, a rental-van trail, witness accounts, surveillance material and digital records to examine. Prosecutors will have to connect those pieces in court while respecting the defendant’s constitutional rights and the presumption of innocence.

For the 23 people injured directly by gunfire, smoke or the rush to escape, the consequences are more immediate. Ten were hit by bullets during an attack in a place where commuters normally have little reason to expect gunfire. The fact that none of the injuries was initially considered life-threatening does not diminish the scale of the event or the trauma to passengers.

New York’s subway system resumed service through the affected area, but the attack leaves a larger question for the city: how to protect an open transit network that must remain accessible while reducing the risk of rare but potentially catastrophic violence. This week’s response produced an arrest quickly. Restoring public confidence will require a longer effort.