NEW YORK — The accused Brooklyn subway shooter was held without bail Tuesday afternoon at a brief Brooklyn Federal Court hearing after prosecutors argued for his continued imprisonment in the “premeditated and carefully planned” rampage aboard a crowded N train.
Suspect Frank James, flanked by two federal public defenders, said nothing other than to acknowledge the charges against him during the seven-minute session one day after the city’s most wanted criminal was taken into custody.
“His mere presence on the street is a danger to the community,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Winik before the order from Magistrate Judge Roanne Mann came down to end the hearing.
Federal prosecutors filed legal paperwork prior to the court appearance describing the bloodshed inside the northbound train during Tuesday’s rush hour, noting that James, 62, quickly ditched some of his clothing — including a reflective orange vest and hardhat — to make his escape after exiting the subway car.
“The defendant came to Brooklyn prepared with all of the weapons and tools he needed to carry out the mass attack: A Glock 17 pistol ... a container containing gasoline, a torch and fireworks with explosive power,” Winik wrote in a detention memo filed before the hearing.
The hulking James was taken into custody Wednesday on an East Village street shortly after his attempt to surrender ended with his cell phone going dead after dialing the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers line.
Authorities had yet to reveal a motive in the mass shooting where 10 people were shot and another 13 injured before James’ gun jammed. But Winik noted the carnage could have been worse.
“He fired approximately 33 rounds in cold blood at terrified passengers who had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide,” she wrote. “Numerous passengers could have been killed.”
In a series of bizarre and rambling online video rants, James looked into a camera to explain his theory of “sensible violence” and detail his past mental health woes.
In one post quoted in court papers, he ranted that “the message to me is I should have gotten a gun, and just started shooting motherf---ers.”
____
