A 64yearold man who exploded and shot smoke bombs in a crowded New York subway car in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison this Thursday (5) for terrorist attacks.
As requested in the indictment, a federal judge sentenced Frank James to “10 years.” [penas de] concurrent life sentences and an additional 10 years to be served consecutively,” the Brooklyn federal prosecutor’s office said on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
During morning rush hour on April 12, 2022, James wearing a gas mask, yellow hard hat and orange worker’s vest detonated smoke bombs in the Brooklyn subway before firing several shots, causing widespread panic in the city to this day triggered traumatized by the attacks of September 11, 2001.
There were no fatalities, which authorities called a miracle, but 10 people were injured by the gunfire and more were injured in the chaos.
“Passengers in the subway car included children on their way to school, families, pregnant women, students and New Yorkers on their way to work,” prosecutors said in their statement.
Photos of the attack showed extensive blood stains inside the train and blood stains on the platform at the 36th Street station in the Sunset Park neighborhood. James was arrested without offering any resistance after a more than 24hour chase in Manhattan.
After initially protesting his innocence, he pleaded guilty to terrorist acts on January 3, 2023. His lawyers said he had suffered from mental illness in the past.
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