The FBI has identified Frank R. James as a person who is of interest in the subway shooting this morning. Seems to me there’s a strong possibility they believe he’s the attacker, but they are not calling him that yet.
Whoever the attacker is, they are said to not only have been known to the FBI but also cleared by the FBI back in 2019.
First, here’s the photo of James:
NYPD says this is the person of interest in the subway shooting. His name is Frank James.
If you have any information — call 1-800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/OXoAPWeBIj— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) April 12, 2022
Here’s more via Newsweek:
A federal law enforcement source told Newsweek that a suspect in Tuesday morning’s Brooklyn subway attack was previously known to the FBI and was entered into the Guardian lead system in New Mexico, though he was cleared after multiple interviews in 2019.
The NYPD has officially released the name and picture of a 62-year-old man named Frank R. James, identifying him as a person of interest and seeking information regarding his whereabouts from the public. It was unclear, however, if James was suspected of being the perpetrator.
The subway attack that injured multiple people in the New York City borough of Brooklyn Tuesday morning was initially considered an act of terrorism, an NYPD official told Newsweek shortly after the bloody incident. But the federal law enforcement source said the attack could not be classified as terrorism until a motivation is established.
At a press briefing hours after the attack, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the attack was “not being investigated as an act of terrorism at this time.” Asked if she would rule that out, she said law enforcement was “not ruling out anything” as officials continued to pursue the suspect and determine his motives.
Newsweek doesn’t expound on this, but the Daily Mail says the suspect was suspected of terrorism by the FBI:
The suspect in the Brooklyn subway shooting was on the FBI’s terrorist radar in New Mexico until 2019, according to a report – and was cleared after ‘multiple interviews’.
How is it that almost every time something terrible happens like this, it turns out the FBI or law enforcement knew about the person and either didn’t act or cleared them?
UPDATE: I’ve updated this article to reflect that James is a person of interest and not officially the suspect.