Frank James unleashed smoke, blood and horror in a subway car full of unsuspecting New Yorkers with 32 quick squeezes of a trigger — and for that act of terrorism, he will spend the rest of his life in prison.
James, 64, who turned the N train into a hell ride on April 12, 2022, wounding 10 people in a morning rush hour shooting, learned his fate Thursday, when Brooklyn Federal Court Judge William Kuntz handed down his sentence.
Kuntz referred to the shooting as “raw evil,” and sentenced him to 10 concurrent life sentences, one for each shooting victim, plus 10 additional years on a gun charge.
James wore a mask, a yellow hard hat and orange reflective jacket to disguise himself as a worker, then used guile and a smoke grenade to create a “kill funnel” by herding commuters to one end of the crowded train car, federal prosecutors said.
As the N train rolled toward the 36th Street subway station, James started telling commuters the empty seats next to him were wet, then set off a smoke grenade — all to make sure no one was close enough to grab his gun, prosecutors said in court filings.
He started shooting from a handgun with an extended magazine — 32 times total, until his weapon finally jammed. Sixteen of his bullets hit flesh, striking 10 people. Somehow, all survived.
When the train reached the station, and as the shell-shocked commuters ran and crawled out of the car, gasping and screaming, James ditched his disguise and hopped onto an R train across the platform.
He got off at 25th St., hopped on a Park Slope-bound bus, went into a deli, and grabbed a drink. He traveled the subway system all day, changing his appearance repeatedly, then headed to Newark for the night and back to the East Village. At one point, he ate lunch at Katz’s Deli.
As police frantically hunted for him, he watched 31 videos of news reports about the shooting on his phone and viewed the same chase scene from the Jams Bond movie “No Time to Die” 10 times, the feds said.
Finally, he called Crime Stoppers on April 13 to turn himself in the day after the shooting.
James pleaded guilty in January to 10 counts of committing a terrorist attack against a mass transportation system, one for each gunshot victim, as well as a single count of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
James’ lawyers asked the judge for 18 years, calling him severely mentally ill but not evil, and describing a lifetime of untreated illness, trauma and hardship. They contended that due to his failing health, he would likely die before his release.
In a court filing last month, they said James “snapped,” and though he opened fire without caring who lived or died, he didn’t aim for people’s heads or shoot them point blank because he didn’t intend to kill anyone.
Prosecutors challenged that notion, describing the steps he took preparing for the attack dating back to at least 2019 — buying similar weapons, doing internet research on guns and taking test runs throughout the subway system.
They also pointed to his myriad rants on social media, including several videos posted on YouTube under the name “profitof_doom8888” and “prophet_oftruth88.”
He rambled online about race wars, Mayor Adams, the mental health system and “homosexual predators.” In one video from about nine months before the attack, he said, “You have to put yourself in position that you’re not just ready, but you’re set to go, so that you get the maximum impact, maximum bang for your buck that you plan to do. And sometimes that takes time.”
With News Wire Services
