After the Brooklyn subway shooting, social media has found its newest star.
Zack Tahhan, 21, was quickly anointed a hero Wednesday after the arrest of Frank R. James, the suspect in the attack that injured 29. But the real story seems more complicated – and Tahhan wasn’t the only hero of the day.
But he certainly drew the most attention. In videos that quickly went viral on Twitter, Tahhan explains that he spotted James on security cameras. “I was like, ‘Oh shit, this guy, let me call the police,'” he says in one clip. He was soon telling his story to a crowd of reporters in Manhattan’s East Village before driving off in a police car and waving to onlookers.
Since then, media reports have identified Tahhan as a security camera technician from Syria who came to the US five years ago and speaks five languages. “We’ve got him, thank God,” he told USA Today. “Oh, I’m doing my best.”
Videos featuring Tahhan’s upbeat story received tens of thousands of likes and retweets, and he inspired a hashtag, #ThankYouZack, and a GoFundMe.
“This is what a hero looks like” tweeted one poster. “Please give this guy a TV show.” added another. “I love that people who were prevented from entering this country a few years ago are being recognized for their heroism,” he wrote another admirer from Tahhan who said he was in the middle of fasting for Ramadan.
Others reminded authorities to give Tahhan a $50,000 reward promised by police for helping arrest James. And New York State Attorney General Letitia James thanked Tahhan for his courage: “All of New York is grateful.”
As of Wednesday, however, reports have depicted a more complex scene – and added a few more stars to the cast.
A spokesman for the New York City Police Department told the Guardian that all leads are confidential. But police sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that James himself called the police. He said they could find him at a McDonald’s in the East Village, the sources said. But when they got there, he wasn’t there, department head Kenneth Corey told the agency. He was seen on a nearby street corner and arrested by police.
However, several locals say they have joined the effort. Tahhan credited his cousin Mo Cheikh for helping and told PIX11 that the two spotted James.
Lee Vasu, a painter and gallery owner, told Artnet he recognized James while walking his family in the area. “I said to my wife, ‘The subway bomber is right behind us. Go fast. Push the baby. No time for arguments. Go,” he said. After making sure they were safe, he said, he ran back to James and notified a police officer – although others had noticed him by the time.
“I looked at him like I was drawing him,” Vasu told the site. “As an artist, you study every facial feature really well. I looked at him for quite a while and then half an hour later he was there. You can’t escape an artist in the East Village.”
Meanwhile, Francisco Puebla, manager of a nearby hardware store, was also involved in the case, he told the New York Times. Puebla had hired Tahhan to work on his store’s security cameras. “He’s all over social media,” Puebla said, “but I’m the one who acted.”
However, speaking to USA Today, he portrayed it as a team effort. After spotting James, he said he asked the two people working on the security system — apparently including Tahhan — to “confirm with me if it was the same guy “. They agreed, “and then we looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s call the police,’ but I said, ‘You call,’ and they said, ‘No, you call.'” They didn’t want to get the wrong ones person in trouble, he said.
Eventually he approached a police car that had stopped nearby with the information.
Ultimately, as author Rachel Handler, who lives and shops in the area, put it in Curbed, “It was a wonderful teamwork moment in New York City.”