America Probably Needs More Guns To Prevent Whatever Happened In NYC Subway Today

'More guns' is America's default setting.

Multiple people were shot during rush hour in the New York City subway this morning, by a gunman who was reported to be wearing a construction vest and may have been wearing (or carrying) a gas mask. Police said in a press briefing that the man set off a smoke bomb of some sort before he began shooting. Video from the scene shows people piling out of a subway car at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, as smoke pours from the car. (Warning: Video includes an image of blood on the platform, at a slight distance.)

So this just happened #NYC 3 ppl shot. Suspect was dressed as an MTA employee. Used smoke bombspic.twitter.com/dMiYQyKjFJ

— Will B. Wylde (@Will B. Wylde) 1649771733 

 ABC News reports that 16 people were injured; in a noon press briefing (video below), an FDNY spokesperson said that 16 patients had been sent to hospitals; of them, 10 had suffered gunshots. Five patients are in "critical but stable" condition.

As of blog time, no suspect has yet been arrested.

The New York City Police Department said on Twitter that there were no explosive devices.

This seems like as good a time as any to remind you of On The Media's "Breaking News Consumer's Handbook" for active shooter incidents:

Officials from the NYPD and other agencies held a press briefing on the attack; here's the feed from NBC New York, from which much of our story is drawn.

 youtu.be 

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell cautioned that all the information is subject to change as the investigation develops, but said the shooting was not currently being investigated as an act of terrorism. She reiterated that there were no explosives found at the scene, and that none of those injured in the shooting had life-threatening injuries. After a reporter asked why the shooting isn't being considered terrorism, Sewell clarified that nothing has yet been ruled out.

She said that as the train was pulling into the station, the shooter put on a gas mask and set off a "canister" that started spewing smoke before he started shooting. The suspect is described as a Black male, about 5'5" tall, with a "heavy build." He was wearing a grey sweatshirt and a green construction vest, and police didn't release any information — if they have it — about how he got off the train or where he headed afterward.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul called for stronger measures against guns and violence, referring not only to today's shootings but to several other recent killings in the state:

No more mass shootings. No more disrupting lives. No more creating heartbreak for people just trying to live their lives as normal New Yorkers. It has to end, it ends now.

Also, too, a spokesperson for the MTA praised the crew of another train that was waiting at the station for quickly pulling away from the platform and getting the train's passengers out of danger. Other trains in nearby stations were immediately stopped, which also led to confusion and some panic as well, the New York Times reports:

Patrick Berry, 41, said he was waiting at the 25th Street station, one stop north, when an R train arrived at around 8: 30 a.m. He and his 3-year-old daughter boarded, but the train didn’t move.

“Then suddenly, from the front of the train, I heard people screaming, ‘Run, run, run! Go, go, go!’ And then all these people came sprinting past our car, and I just felt like, ‘Oh my god, this is a stampede,’” Mr. Berry said. “People started pushing out from behind. So I grabbed my daughter, and we ran too.”

The Times also reports that President Biden has been briefed on the shooting, and that New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who is quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19 Sunday, is "monitoring" the situation as it develops.

Predictably, rightwing race baiters on Twitter took to accusing the media of downplaying the suspect's race, which sounds like bullshit to us, given that MSNBC was passing along the police description of the suspect even before the news conference. Habitual liar Paul Joseph Watson is lying about CNN's coverage here, as far as we know, but the accusation is already spreading on wingnut Twitter, either as rightwing revealed truth, or as a very funny joke.

In conclusion, don't believe everything you see on Twitter, especially if it's coming from known liars, and stay safe, please.

[ WNYC / NYT / NBC New York / ABC News ]

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