New York firing: FBI opens investigation into Brooklyn subway incident

After US President Joe Biden was briefed on the latest development about Tuesday’s shooting incident that happened in Brooklyn borough, New York City subway train, the Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI opened a separate investigation. Reports suggest that the New York City Police Department (NYPD), though,  still remains the lead agency that is coordinating efforts with New York Mayor and other key officials to track down the suspect who is "still on the loose."

NYPD has described the suspect as a 5ft 5in Black male wearing an "orange construction vest" as he had disguised himself as an MNT construction worker. He is also "carrying a book bag."

Washington's Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced on Twitter that his office is "closely monitoring" the situation and that a probe has been launched into the shooting. At least 13 people were injured, of whom five were in a critical state after the gunfire and smoke bomb attack on Tuesday morning. Graphic images of bloodstained subway floors, injured commuters, passengers screaming, and running helter-skelter appeared in the broadcasts from the scene shot by those with cellphones.

This photo provided by Will B Wylde, a person is aided outside a subway car in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Credit: Associated Press

The train halted at the 25th Street, borough’s Sunset Park neighborhood when passengers rushed to the platform and shouted for help, panic ensued. Numerous disruptions were reported to the subway system during the rush hour. 

An 'active shooter situation'

NYPD at a presser described the shooter with the heavy build as "dangerous." The train had entered the 36th Street subway when the suspect unsealed a canister out of his bag that filled the coach with thick smoke. "The train at that time began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway and in the platform," she said. but there were no life-threatening injuries.

NYPD encouraged the members of the public to share photos, videos, or other information with the officers and assist in establishing the identity of the suspect. Commissioner Sewell described the incident as an "active shooter situation." "We do not know the motive at this time, but we're not ruling anything out," she added. NYPD Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that the attack was not being investigated as terrorism at this moment.

Law enforcement gather near the entrance to a subway stop in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Credit: Associated Press

Credit: Associated Press

The incident has brought back in focus the rising rate of gun violence that has rendered the American streets unsafe. It comes at a time when US president Joe Biden had announced a ban on "untraceable"  ghost guns under the new firearms restrictions. Just recently the American President had announced a crackdown on the kit-form guns to try to prevent the “terrible fellowship of loss.”The gun lobby tried to tie up the regulations and paperwork for a long, long time.

The NRA called this rule I’m about to announce extreme,” Biden said at a conference. “But let me ask you, is it extreme to protect police officers? Extreme to protect our children? Extreme to keep guns out of the hands of people who couldn’t even pass a background check?"The idea that someone on a terrorist list can purchase one of these guns is extreme. Extreme? It’s not extreme. It’s just basic common sense," he stressed.