Person of interest in Brooklyn subway attack was known to FBI, cleared from watchlist

The person of interest in Tuesday morning's Brooklyn subway mass shooting is a known entity to the FBI and appeared on a watchlist until he was cleared in 2019, according to Newsweek.

Frank James, a 62-year-old man who has been identified by authorities as a person of interest in Tuesday's attack that injured at least 29 people with 5 of those being in critical condition, was cleared by the FBI from the Guardian lead system in New Mexico after multiple interviews.

Authorities say they found "concerning posts" online by Frank James that complained about the homeless and the city's Mayor, Eric Adams. James warned last month on social media that he was "entering the danger zone."

In a March 2022 video uploaded to YouTube, James expressed the hope that humanity would be exterminated because of the damage people have done to the environment.

James said in one video, "Mr. Mayor, I'm a victim of your mental health program, I'm 63 now full of hate, full of anger, and full of bitterness."

James claimed to have a diagnosed mental illness and called the city's mental health services a "horror show."

Regarding the facility he claimed to receive care from James said, "What's going on in that place is violence. Not physical violence, but the kind of violence a child experiences in grade school… that would make him go get a gun and shooting mother***rs."

James also ranted against Jews, posted hatred of Donald Trump and in support of Black Lives Matter and black nationalism. In one video he expressed disappointment that Justice Ketanji Jackson is married to a white man.

James appeared to be a fan of communism, Fidel Castro, and CNN's Don Lemon as well.

A massive multi-agency manhunt is underway for the shooter.

Police are currently actively searching for anyone linked to the attack on Tuesday morning where an assailant, suspected to be Frank James, on the incoming N train released smoke bombs in the train car and opened fire, injuring upwards of 29 people with 5 of those being in critical condition.

The key to a U-Haul along with a credit card that rented the vehicle out of Philadelphia was discovered at the scene of the crime, according to law-enforcement who believe that James was living in the van.

NYPD said that the suspect is a 5-foot-5 black man with a heavy build at around 170 pounds and was wearing a gas mask, an orange and green construction-type vest, neon-green work helmet and a hooded gray sweatshirt at the time of the shooting. Items recovered by authorities at the scene included a 9 mm handgun, a hatchet, gasoline and "consumer-grade fireworks."

It was also revealed that surveillance cameras at the subway station were not operational at the time of the shooting.