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TERRIFYING SCENE
Subway attack witnesses recall seeing victims with gaping wounds and reveal horror aftermath of shooting
A WITNESS to the aftermath of the terrifying shooting inside a New York subway station says he was warned away from the mayhem by a bloodied victim staggering towards him.
Konrad Aderer, a Brooklyn-based documentary filmmaker, told The US Sun he missed being swept up in the violence at the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park, , by a matter of moments on Tuesday morning.
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The attack erupted at around 8.30 am when a suspect, reportedly wearing a gas mask and high-visibility vest, set off a smoke grenade and then opened fire at morning commuters on a Manhattan-bound N train.
At least 29 people were hospitalized with varying degrees of injuries, including 10 gunshot victims. The victims range in age from 17 to 49 and are all expected to survive.
The suspect has not yet been identified but remains at large. Police described the gunman as a black male, believed to be around 5ft 5in tall and weighing 170 pounds.
Aderer had been making his way down a flight of steps inside the station when he saw a victim of the shooting hobbling towards him, calling out to MTA staff that there were people hurt on the platform below.
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"I saw this guy come up to the station booth, his pants were down and he was bleeding from both of his legs," Aderer told The US Sun.
"He was very animatedly telling the agent that there were people injured and bleeding on the platform. I thought I heard him say something about a shooting but I wasn't totally sure at the time."
Aderer said he felt incredibly concerned for the bleeding man. He considered hanging around to find out more and seeing if he could help out in any way, but ultimately he decided to "just get out."
"At that point, I decided I know as much as I needed to and there was no reason for me to be there a second longer," he said.
"I felt a lot of concern for the man, but thankfully - at least, I hope I'm right in saying - that he wasn't critically injured or anything, since he was able to make it up the steps.
"Part of me wanted to find out what happened and help but it just didn't seem wise," Aderer added. "I have a family and I just would have been risking myself and not really helping [by being there]."
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As Aderer raced out of the subway station, he saw streams of police officers and other emergency personnel piling down the steps in the opposite direction.
He said: "So I knew that man was getting the help he needed and my presence was not required there at all."
John Ramsey, who has lived in the Sunset Park area for two decades, witnessed the immediate aftermath of the shooting above ground.
He told The US Sun: "I've never seen anything like that ... Once I saw people running and screaming out of the train, I knew it wasn't normal.
"People had masks on so I couldn't make out what they were saying. But it was this mass flight of people. They were confused. No one knew where to go.”
James Wheeler, a grandfather of 10, had just stepped off a different train at 36th Street when a tide of screaming passengers came racing past him.
"I thought it was a fight or something," he said. "When I found out what happened, I just said 'thank god'. That could’ve been me. I gotta take care of my grandkids”
NEAR MISS?
Arderer believes he may have missed being on the platform when the gunfire erupted by just a matter of minutes or even seconds.
Arderer, who lives in locally with his family, said he was ultimately held up by a series of "unusual" events, including an interaction with a crying woman who asked to borrow his phone after losing hers.
"I was walking down the station's first flight of steps when a very distraught woman came up to me and asked if she could use my phone," he recounted.
"She said that she had just lost her phone on the train, so I'm guessing she didn't know [about the shooting] yet, otherwise she would've told me."
Arderer said he was further held up by a text messaging conversation with his wife, where the pair were debating whether he should take care of something back home before heading out to work.
"So I had this pause, and these delays kept me from being on the platform a lot sooner," Arderer said. "I don't know how much I missed it by, or whether I'd have been in any danger, but the timing of it all was very, very close to the incident."
After learning of the shooting, Arderer texted his wife to inform her "Something has happened down here" and he was now on his way back home.
He'd been riding the same subway line with his children some 20 minutes earlier, having accompanied them on their morning commute to school.
'SO MANY SHOTS'
Arderer said that he didn't hear any gunfire or see anything out of the ordinary while in the station, aside from the bloodied victim standing at the MTA booth.
However, a witness who was on the platform when the shooting began told the there were so many rounds fired off she “lost count.”
“There was like, lots of them. I don’t even know how many,” she told the Post, adding the gas mask-wearing culprit dropped "some kind of cylinder that sparked at the top."
“I thought he was an MTA worker at first because I was like, I didn’t like pay too much attention. You know? You’ve got the orange on,” she told the outlet.
MANHUNT FOR SUSPECT ONGOING
FDNY said they responded to a call for smoke on the platform at the 36th Street stop shortly before 8.30am and found multiple gunshot victims.
The injured were taken to NYU Langone of Brooklyn and Methodist Hospital, officials said.
A manhunt for the gunman remains ongoing, with investigators reportedly combing through subway tunnels, based on some witness reports that he may have jumped onto the tracks.
Police have not yet speculated on a motive for the shooting, but it's believed the gunman acted alone.
The New York Police Department was hunting for a U-Haul van with Arizona license plate number AL31408 in connection with the shooting.
The vehicle, a 2021 Chevrolet Express hired from a U-Haul branch in Philadelphia, is believed to have been located by investigators in Gravesend, Brooklyn, at Kings Highway near West 4th street.
In a statement to The US Sun, U-Haul's Vice President of Communications Sebastien Reyes confirmed the company was helping police with its search.
“Law enforcement has alerted us to its search for a rental van and its possible connection to a suspect in today’s incident in New York City," Reyes said.
"We are working closely with authorities to ensure they have any and all available information to meet their needs.”
Detectives have made significant progress and believe they have a good idea for whom they are searching, reports.
However, further details, including a photo of the suspect, have not yet been released.
A law enforcement source told that a Glock semi-automatic handgun was also recovered from the scene, along with a tote bag containing a hatchet, pepper spray, two gas canisters and a smoke grenade.
Police believe the handgun jammed shortly after the gunman opened fire, potentially preventing dozens more casualties.
Investigators also recovered a credit card from the scene that they believe belongs to the gunman, according to the .
One of the charges on the card is for a U-Haul rental outside of Philadelphia.
POLICE MISTAKE?
NYPD Commissioner Keechant L. Sewell said at a press conference late Tuesday morning that the incident is not currently being investigated as an act of terrorism, though police can't yet rule the possibility out either.
A report by suggested a police error may have allowed the suspect to flee and evade immediate capture.
An unnamed source told the outlet the suspect's escape may have been enabled by a local duty captain who reportedly failed to freeze all trains in and out of the 36th Street Station.
As an investigation continues, earlier this morning the New York City Fire Department confirmed that officials found "several undetonated devices" at the scene of the shooting.
However, the NYPD later confirmed there were "no active explosive devices" at the station over an hour after the incident unfolded.
PRESIDENT BIDEN 'PRAYS' FOR VICTIMS
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said President was brief on the situation on Tuesday morning, and confirmed officials are in contact with NYC Mayor Eric Adams and NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell.
In a statement on Tuesday afternoon, Biden said he and first lady Jill were "praying" for all those "touched by that trauma."
"And we're grateful for all the first responders who jumped into action, including civilians, civilians who didn't hesitate to help their fellow passengers and try to shield them," Biden said.
warned New Yorkers to avoid the area of 3rd Avenue to 5th Avenue from 20th to 40th Street in Brooklyn.
The 36th street subway station serves the D, N, and R trains.
A video posted on the Citizen app showed a heavy law enforcement presence at the scene.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she has been briefed on the situation and will work with law enforcement on the investigation.
"I'm praying for all the victims, their families, all those impacted. I’m grateful for the quick action of our first responders. To everyone in New York: Stay safe," Senate Majority Leader tweeted.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
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Schools in the area of the Brooklyn subway shooting are in a shelter-in-place mode.
Jersey City is upping security with the attacker in Brooklyn shooting still at large.
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