More than 20 injured in yet another New York shooting. “What if the culprit is just standing here?”

They didn’t seem to realize they had been hit, says Yehia (33). He was working at his Brooklyn convenience store near the entrance to the Subway in the Sunset Park neighborhood when he saw three bloodied people walk by. “Two men and one woman.” He is pointing. “They came up from the subway, very calmly, walked a few steps. I didn’t understand it. Then they fell to the ground and everyone started screaming.’

Three police officers watch his security camera in Yehia’s store. Hundreds of people walk in and out of the station, quietly, the usual morning rush hour. Until the rest is over. At around 8.30 am, the images show panic breaking out. The police officers make a note of every person who emerges from the stairwell wearing a safety vest. They are looking for the culprit.

What is known so far: A man in green safety clothing and a gas mask is said to have rolled a smoke grenade through the closing doors of a subway train departing from Brooklyn for Manhattan, and opened fire. As the subway departed, he fled. Only one station away, below Yehia’s shop, the victims were able to get out of the subway car. Images were shared on social media of blood on platforms, people with gunshot wounds and fellow passengers providing first aid.

After an hours-long search for which a large area around the metro station was cordoned off, the police are now looking for 62-year-old Frank R. James is said to have rented a van that may have been linked to the shooting. A bag containing smoke bombs and an ax was found in the metro station. That bag also contained the key to the rented van.

Sunset Park is a police zone

The neighborhood turned into a police zone shortly after the shots were fired. Entire blocks of houses were cordoned off with blue and yellow police tape, helicopters hovered in the air. New Yorkers received an alarm message on their phones to stay away. Schools in the wider area closed their doors.

“I locked the door, sat inside and turned on the news,” says tax adviser Deanna Gonzalez, 49, in her office right next to the subway station on 4th Avenue. ‘I saw a crowd of people running past in panic. I only heard about the shooting on the news.’ Her phone exploded with messages from concerned friends asking if she knew anything about what had happened. In addition to victims with gunshot wounds, people with breathing problems were also admitted, possibly because of the smoke grenade going off.

“They really need to get him soon!” Gonzalez nods toward the street, where hundreds of local residents, officers and journalists have gathered. “What if the culprit is just standing here?”

More shooting incidents in New York

The number of shooting incidents has risen in New York lately. Up to April 3 this year, 296 shooting incidents took place, 36 more than the same period last year. Mayor Eric Adams, himself a former police officer, was elected last year with the promise to make the city safer. Last January, he had hundreds of officers perform extra patrols at subway stations, because New Yorkers feel increasingly unsafe there.

At the time of the attack, Adams was in quarantine due to a corona infection. As a result, he was unable to visit the affected area himself. In a video message, he called on New Yorkers on Tuesday to help track down the perpetrator. The White House has also pledged support to the city. “Anything they need, anything they want, we are here to give it to them,” spokesman Jen Psaki said Tuesday.

“It’s too early to make any statements about exactly what happened here,” Mayor Adams said. He called the act a form of “terror”, but avoided the word “terrorism” as long as the motive is unclear. “The police are looking for the perpetrator and we will find him.”