Sixteen people injured in shooting on NYC subway train

Editor’s note: This story has been updated.

By Grace Renderman, Associate Editor

A shooting occurred at 8:24 Eastern time this morning on the MTA New York City Transit subway system, injuring 16 people.

Ten people were treated for gunshot wounds, five of them in critical, but stable, condition, said a Fire Department of New York spokesperson during a New York Police Department press conference held late this morning. The other six people suffered various injuries from shooting-related shrapnel, smoke inhalation and the panic of the crowd, they said. There are no life-threatening injuries at this time.

The NYPD said it has not found any explosive devices after claims began circulating online that an explosion happened on the platform.

The shooter apparently donned a gas mask just before pulling a gas canister out of his backpack, throwing it into the train and filling it with smoke. He then opened fire on the train and continuing onto the platform. The train moved from the 25th Street and 4th Avenue station onto the 36th Street station containing injured people, officials said.

The suspect is described as a Black man carrying a backpack and wearing an orange reflective vest and green clothing. No arrests have been made and no motive has been determined. Schools within a 1-mile radius of the station are on lockdown. It is considered an active shooter situation at this time.

Many officials spoke at the press conference, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and MTA CEO Janno Lieber.

Police are not actively investigating the shooting as an act of terrorism, but they are not ruling out anything yet, said an official from the police commissioner’s office. NYPD is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives during the investigation.

R, D and N train service is indefinitely suspended in both directions and B, F and Q train service is experiencing major delays, according to NYCT officials.