Police are searching for a suspect after 17 people were injured in a shooting that erupted on a New York subway platform during Tuesday’s morning rush. At least eight of the victims sustained wounds from gunfire, a fire department spokesperson said.
Officers received a 911 call to the 36th Street subway station near 4th Avenue in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood just before 8:30 a.m., a police spokeswoman said.
Fire officials, responding to reports of smoke, arrived on the scene to find multiple injured victims as well as several undetonated devices in the area, according to a New York Fire Department spokesperson.
The specific nature of the injuries and conditions of the victims was unclear by midday. Nine of the injured were taken to NYU Langone, three to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, and five to Maimonides Medical Center.
The patients at Maimonides are being treated for smoke inhalation and gunshot wounds, according to a hospital spokesman.
While the information was still being developed on Tuesday morning, an NYPD official said a potential suspect was believed to possibly be wearing a construction vest.
Sunset Park, the site of the shooting, has long been a hub for working-class immigrant communities and is considered one of the city’s most diverse neighborhoods.
The 4th Avenue subway station is at the core of the neighborhood’s Latin American community, made up largely of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Central Americans and Ecuadorians. It is also a major transfer station for commuters across Brooklyn.
A spokesman for New York Mayor Eric Adams (D) said that the mayor continues to be briefed on the situation and asked New Yorkers to stay away from the area for their safety.
Adams tested positive for coronavirus over the weekend and is isolated at home.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) said that she had been briefed on the incident and first responders were on the scene. She said further updates would be provided as the investigation continues.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting and White House senior staff were in touch with Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Swell.
Local schools were on lockdown immediately after the shooting “out of an abundance of caution,” according to New York Schools Chancellor David C. Banks, who offered condolences for the subway shooting victims and insisted that school officials are working closely with NYPD to ensure the safety of students and staff.
This story was updated at 1 p.m.
More than a dozen people were shot in a Brooklyn subway station on Tuesday morning and the Fire Department of New York said it found “several undetonated devices” at the location.
The shooting happened around 8:30 am in Sunset Park, near Fourth Avenue and 36th Street. The NYPD said there are no active explosive devices at this time. No arrests have been made and the motive is not clear.
City officials said that 13 people were transported to area hospitals, while NYPD Detective Francis Sammon reported that five people were shot, one of them in critical condition.
A possible smoke device was detonated at the station.
Police said, according to a preliminary report, a male perpetrator possibly wearing a gas mask and orange construction vest fled the scene.
The NYPD tweeted to avoid the area of 36th Street and 4th Avenue in Brooklyn.
The Metropolitan Transit Authority, which operates the subways, says they are also investigating the incident and that D, N and R trains are holding in both directions in Brooklyn.
The FDNY said they were called to the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighborhood for a smoke condition at about 8:30 a.m. There, multiple people were found shot and the devices were discovered, the FDNY said.