A gun with a gas mask and a bouveston fired smoke grenades and fired bullets at a moving subway train in Brooklyn, killing at least 10 people in the past. Authorities said Tuesday (April 12).

Police are trying to find the owner of a van who may have been involved in the violence.

Detective James Essig said investigators were unsure whether the man, identified as Frank R James, 62, had been involved in the subway attack.

Authorities looked at his apparent reports on social media, some of which prompted officials to clarify New York Mayor Eric Adams' security details. Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell called the news "about." The attack caused a scene of horror in the morning: a dirty underground car, an attack of at least 33 bullets, screaming passengers, walking around the station, bloody people lying on the platform like others standing in front of them.

Jordan Javier thinks on the train that the first crack he hears is the fall of a book. Then there was another doll, people started moving to the front of the car and he knew there was smoke, he said.

When the train was at the station, people ran and were directed to another train across the platform. Passengers shouted and prayed as they boarded, Javier said. "I'm just grateful I'm alive," he said.

The condition of the five victims of the shooting is critical, but it is expected to survive. At least a dozen people who survived gunshot wounds were treated for smoke exposure and other injuries.

Sewell said the attack was not investigated as terrorism, but "prevented anything." The motif of the shooter is unknown. A shooter sitting in the back of another train car threw two smokestacks on the floor, picked up a 9mm Glock semi-automatic rifle and started firing, according to Essig.

He said police found the weapon, along with extended magazines, an ax, exploded and unexploded ordnance, a black trash can, a trolley, fuel, and a U-Haul van key.

The key brought investigators to James, who has addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin, the chief detective said. The van was later found, unoccupied, near a subway station where investigators found the gun had entered the train system, Essig said.

She murmured, the rough YouTube videos apparently published by James were full of black nationalist rhetoric, violent expressions and fanatical remarks. One, published on April 11, criticized the crime against blacks, saying more action was needed to change things.

The February 20 video says the mayor's and governor's plan to improve the safety of the New York subway "fails" and portrays himself as a "victim" of a mental health program in general.

Investigators believe the shooter's weapon was blocked, preventing him from firing, two police officers said they were not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The attack shocked the city, which was warned of an increase in gun violence and the constant threat of terrorism.

This has raised concerns among some New Yorkers about operating the country's most agile subway system and has encouraged officials to increase the number of police officers at the Philadelphia-to-Connecticut hubs. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said last fall that it would install security cameras at all 472 subway stations in the city, saying it would get criminals on the "fast track to justice."

Essig said at three stations where police searched for evidence but the cameras did not work on Tuesday.

MTA system manager Janno Lieber told television interviewers he had no idea why the cameras were faulty.

The rider's videos show the man in the hoodie raising his arm and pointing at something while doing five shots.

Driver Juliana Fonda, a broadcast engineer at WNYC-FM, told the Gothamist news website that passengers in the back of her car had started knocking on the connecting door. "There was a very loud crack and there was smoke in the other car," he said. "And people tried to get in, but they couldn't. They knocked on the door to get in our car."

As police searched for gunmen, Gov. Kathy Hochul warned New Yorkers to be vigilant.

"This individual is still alive. This man is dangerous," the Democrat told a news conference just after noon.

After people got off the train, fleeing workers transported passengers on another train across the platform for safety reasons, transit officials said. High school student John Butsikaris boarded another train and initially thought the problem was common until the next stop, when he heard a call for medical help and his train was evacuated.

"I was really nervous," said the 15-year-old. "Even though I didn't see what was happening, I was still scared, because when a few meters away from me, something happened."

President Joe Biden in Menlo, Iowa, praised "the first rescuers to take action, including citizens, citizens who did not hesitate to help their other passengers and tried to protect them."

Adams, who was alone on a positive test for COVID-19 on Sunday, said in a video statement that the city "does not allow intimidation of New Yorkers, not even individuals."

New York City has experienced a series of shootings and bloodshed in recent months, including the city subway. One of the most shocking was January, when a woman was shot in front of a foreign train after her death.

Adams, a Democrat with more than 100 days in office, has made crime prevention - especially in the subway - the attention of his administration and has promised to send more police officers to regular patrol stations and platforms.

It was not immediately clear whether there were any officers at the station at the time of the shooting.

"The whole country needs to speak up and fight against the cult of death that grips this country," Adams said on video via Tuesday night.