At least 10 people were shot and six injured during rush hour at a New York subway station Tuesday morning.
Five of those shot are in critical condition at hospital, multiple media reports in New York say, though officials at a press conference said there were no life-threatening injuries.
The incident reportedly took place at about 8:24 am at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park
According to preliminary reports, the attacker was described as wearing an orange construction vest and gas mask.
He reportedly threw a smoke canister on the platform to distract the crowd before opening fire. All five victims were believed to have been in the same car on the moving train.
NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell told reporters that the incident is not being considered as an act of terrorism at this time.
“The suspect was in the train car, the shooting began in the train car,” Sewell said during a news conference per NBC New York reports.
“As the train was pulling into the station, the subject put on a gas mask. He then opened a canister that was in his bag and then the car began to fill with smoke. After that he began shooting.”
Passengers, including some of the wounded, stumbled out of the train — with a few of them boarding an R train across the platform to get away, law enforcement sources told NBC New York.
In addition to the 10 shot, at least six others were hurt in the frantic rush to get away from the N train, the FDNY said.
Commuter Kenneth Foote-Smith called the scene “bedlam” and “like a horror movie.”
He said he heard shots coming from a neighboring car as it filled with smoke. And adding to the panic, riders fleeing that smoke-filled car couldn’t get into his car for safety because of a jammed door, Foote-Smith said.
The train stopped just short of the station, presumably for a red light, leading to more panic.
“We can’t even see the faces of the people in the train car anymore,” Foote-Smith told NBC New York.
“We luckily pull up to the station very shortly after that. And we all run out once the doors open and it’s absolute bedlam. There’s people fleeing up the stairs. Luckily an R train pulled up, there’s people running into the R train.”
The FDNY initially said several undetonated devices were found at the scene. The NYPD, though, said no “active explosive devices” were immediately located. What was believed to be explosive devices “may just be debris,” law enforcement sources said, according to NBC New York.
Police were looking for a man, believed to be about 5-foot-5, 180 pounds who wore a wear a green construction vest during the attack, officials and sources said.
Several commuters posted images of bloodshed and smoke in the Brooklyn subway station immediately after the attack.
Former NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea urged the public not to jump to conclusions based on initial reports.
– article from NBC New York
