A bizarre report from CNN claims that Frank James, the Brooklyn subway shooter who injured 29 people, actually called police on himself while he sat in a McDonalds on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.
CNN says this came from two law enforcement sources who say James saw himself on TV while he sat in McDonalds and called in a tip to Crime Stoppers that he was there. He refused to give his phone number and said he was charging up his phone.
“He essentially told police he saw his face on the news and knew he was wanted, the sources said.”
The call from James dropped and 911 services then got a call from Zack, the man across the street, who saw James and told them where he was.
CNN reports that when police arrived they could not find James in the McDonalds. But a little ways down the block they were flagged down by a bystander, presumably Zack, who led them to James.
The arrest was made close to an hour after the call from James.
I don’t know why James would call Crime Stoppers to turn himself in, but maybe he realized it was just a matter of time and impulsively called them. Or maybe he wants police to think he’s mental. Who knows.
But this call from James takes nothing away from Zack, who is truly the one who led police to capture James.
I am surprised, however, that it took close to an hour for the NYPD to arrest James. I would have thought they could have had officers at that McDonald’s within minutes of both phone calls.