NYPD identifies man who rented van that may be connected to subway attack

"No more mass shootings, no more disrupting lives, no more," said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul 

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — UPDATE 10 p.m. CST: Police say the gunman in the Brooklyn subway shooting fired at least 33 bullets in the rush-hour train, wounding 10 people.

Police are looking for a man who rented a van they think could be connected to Tuesday’s shooting, although they haven’t established a definitive link.

Chief of Detectives James Essig identified the man as 62-year-old Frank R. James and said James has addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin.

Essig says a key to the rental van was found at the scene, along with a semi-automatic handgun, a hatchet, smoke grenades and other items.

Police have since found the van, empty.

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LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — UPDATE (4:15 p.m.) CST: Police found an unoccupied U-Haul van in Brooklyn matching the description and license plate number of the vehicle being sought in connection with Tuesday’s shooting on a rush-hour subway train, a law enforcement official said.

Police were closing off a street about 4 miles from the shooting scene and clearing nearby businesses while awaiting a bomb squad and the highly specialized emergency services unit.

The official was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

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UPDATE (3:35 p.m. CST): New York police are looking for a U-Haul truck with Arizona license plates in connection with the subway shooting.

Two law enforcement officials told the Associated Press that authorities have a photo of the suspect and are working to confirm his identity.

Officers are being told to stop the U-Haul if they see it and detain the occupants immediately.

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UPDATE (1:03 p.m. CST): According to a police official, the suspect was seen mumbling to himself before he put on the gas mask, released a smoke canister commonly bought online, and opened fire with a handgun.

Police found a 9mm Glock that appeared to be jammed; three magazines were found with the gun.

Twenty-eight victims have gone to Brooklyn hospitals with various injuries. Five people are in critical but stable condition.

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UPDATE (11:20 a.m. CST): During a New York City Police press conference police confirmed that 10 of the 16 patients are suffering from gunshot wounds, 5 of which are in critical, but stable, condition.

Investigators are looking at the shooting as a coordinated attack.

The suspect is said to have pulled a canister out of his bag, opened it, and begin shooting in the subway as gas filled the train car.

Police are looking for a black male, approximately five foot, five inches and 180 pounds.  The suspect was wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, gas mask, and green construction vest.

According to the New York Police Commissioner, “there are currently no known explosive devices, this is not being investigated as an act of terrorism at this time.”

Local hospitals have treated at least 16 patients who were injured in the incident; no fatalities have been reported and all patients are expected to survive.

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UPDATE (10:00 a.m. CST): New York City Police have not found evidence of traditional explosive devices.

Police are investigating the theory that multiple smoke devices were used in the shooting.  Experts speaking with ABC say this could point to multiple suspects involved in the shooting.

Police continue to search for a shooter who opened fire in the subway or in the subway stations, the suspect was dressed in construction attire and was wearing a gas mask.  Police believe the suspect is five feet, five inches, and 180 pounds.

Witnesses report hearing loud bangs and seeing people running out of two subway stations.

“I was on the stairway just below the street and over to my right I saw a young man standing in front of the station agent booth, he was bleeding from the legs but he seemed as though he could talk well,” said an eyewitness at the subway station. “He was saying that many people were injured and many were bleeding.”

There are currently two subway stations and a train that are being investigated as crime scenes.

Schools in the area are on “shelter in place” protocols, officials said. Students are being kept inside but the school day is continuing as normal.

The president is anticipated to make a statement in the coming minutes as he leaves the White House.

NYPD will be hosting a press conference at approximately 10:30 CST.

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Multiple people were shot Tuesday morning in separate incidents involving a northbound train in Brooklyn, New York, the city fire department said.

There are at least 13 injured in the subway shootings, according to a city source.  Many, if not most, appear to have been shot and have been taken to multiple hospitals in Brooklyn.

Fire personnel responding to reports of smoke at the station in the Sunset Park neighborhood found multiple people shot, a New York City Fire Department spokesperson said.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the shootings took place on the train or at the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park or the 25th Street station in Greenwood Heights.

Preliminary investigation indicates that a suspect was dressed in construction attire and wearing a gas mask at the time of the shooting.

According to ABC News, “there are multiple scenes, including the two subway stations below and a northbound N train but how this all went down remains unclear.”

Images surfacing from the scene show people tending to bloodied passengers lying on the floor of the station.

New York City police are responding to reports of people wounded either by gunfire or an explosion and do not currently have further updates at this time.

NYPD, Homeland Security, New York Attorney General, and the FBI are all investigating the case.