Five to share reward for tips leading to arrest of NY subway shooting suspect
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
NEW YORK • Five people who provided "critical information" that helped lead to the arrest of the man charged with last week's mass shooting in a New York subway will share a US$50,000 (S$67,500) reward, the New York Police Department (NYPD) announced on Friday.
Frank James, the man accused of carrying out one of the most violent attacks on the city's mass transit system, was arrested in lower Manhattan on Wednesday following a 30-hour manhunt that was helped by a barrage of tips from the public.
James, 62, also called the police tipline to turn himself in, aiding in his own capture, according to his lawyers.
"We appreciate all of those who responded to our call for in-formation to locate this suspect, including all of those whose tips did not pan out," Police Com-missioner Keechant Sewell said in a statement.
"We urged the public to join us in this effort to find this suspect and New Yorkers stepped up."
James is accused of injuring 30 people by setting off smoke bombs and spraying the inside of a subway car with gunfire during Tuesday morning's rush-hour commute in Brooklyn.
The police said 10 people were shot, although all were expected to survive. About 20 others were injured by the smoke canisters or in the stampede of terrified passengers pouring out of the subway car onto the platform, according to prosecutors.
The NYPD said its detectives used the flow of public tips to build a timeline of events that helped them locate James. Of the people who provided tips, five were chosen whose "information contributed directly" to the suspect's arrest.
The NYPD did not identify the five people who will evenly split the US$50,000 reward, made up of funds from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Transport Workers Union Local 100, and the New York City Police Foundation.
Meanwhile, some first responders who helped in the after-math of the shooting were recognised during a news conference on Friday hosted by New York Mayor Eric Adams, who appeared virtually.
REUTERS