NEW YORK – In another incident of mass shooting in the United States, a man wearing a gas mask shot at least 16 people on a packed New York subway train during the morning rush-hour.
The shooter set off a smoke bomb before opening fire on the terrified passengers.
According to the latest media reports, police have launched a manhunt for the shooter, but said none of the injuries were considered life-threatening and that the incident in Brooklyn was not being investigated as an act of terrorism.
New York Police Department Commissioner Keechant Sewell told a press conference the suspected gunman put on a gas mask just as the train was arriving at 36th Street station.
“He then opened the canister that was in his bag and then the car filled with smoke. After that he began shooting,” Sewell said.
The city fire department said six other people were wounded as panicked passengers fled the smoke-filled train, which pulled up to the platform moments after the shooting.
Sewell described the suspect as a lone “male, Black, approximately five feet five inches tall with a heavy build,” wearing a green construction type vest and a grey hooded sweatshirt.
Police were alerted to the shooting just before 8:30 am (1230 GMT).
Verified video footage posted on social media showed the train pulling into the 36th Street station, and smoke billowing out the doors as passengers rushed off, some apparently injured.
One of them, Yav Montano, recounted being inside the car when it began filling with smoke – and shots rang out.
“In the moment, I did not think that it was a shooting because it sounded like fireworks,” he said. “It just sounded like a bunch of scattered popping.”
There were 40 to 50 passengers inside at the time and they began crowding towards the front, Montano said – but the door to the next car was locked.
“There were people in that other car that saw what was happening. And they tried to open the door, but they couldn’t,” he said.
