Brooklyn subway gunman Frank James was a troubled loner with a checkered past and had been estranged from his family in the years leading up to this week’s horrific bombing.
James, who was arrested in the Sunset Park subway shooting on Wednesday, was described as calm and unassuming by those who knew him – but the conspiracy theorist also had a rap sheet dating back to 1984 for busts in largely mean-spirited.
James, 62, was arrested at least 12 times by the NYPD between 1984 and 1998 for charges ranging from burglary, possession of burglary tools and felony sex acts, cops said. The results of these cases, however, were not immediately available.
The alleged shooter “also has a terrorist threat record in New Jersey,” an NYPD official told the Post. He has no record of convictions in the Garden State.
His sister, Catherine James Robinson, told the Post that her brother was “kept to himself” and said she last spoke to him about three years ago.
“He was a loner, yes he was,” she said.
After his time in New York in the 1990s, James lived in both Philadelphia and Milwaukee, where locals described him as quiet and polite.
“He was cordial,” said Eugene Yarbrough, pastor of Mount Zion Wings of Glory Church in Milwaukee. “He didn’t bother anyone. I didn’t know he was having fun with anyone.
His genius attitude changed on Tuesday when he parked a U-Haul van two blocks from the Sunset Park N station on 36th Street shortly before 8:30 a.m. and unleashed the attack that injured 29 straphangers, including 10 bullet wounds.
According to a federal complaint released Wednesday, James had rented a room in Philadelphia for 15 days beginning March 28 and was still booked there when he booked a U-Haul van on April 6 at a nearby outlet.
He picked up the white Chevy Cargo Van on Monday and headed to New York.
Early Wednesday morning – while James was still at large – the FBI and local police raided the Philadelphia apartment in search of the fugitive. Inside, authorities found an empty magazine for a Glock, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine and a blue smoke canister.
Get the latest updates on the Brooklyn subway shooting with live coverage from The Post.
“He didn’t stay here long,” neighbor Bruce Allen said. “I don’t remember his face. He was just going to come in and go. He wasn’t one of those guys who stays out. He can stay an hour or two and leave, then come back late at night.
In recent years, James had become increasingly unhinged, posting bizarre rants on YouTube where he claimed to have suffered from mental illness and blamed Mayor Eric Adams, among others, for his fate.
In a since-deleted post titled ‘My Family the Enemy’, James said he blamed his ‘40%’ father for leaving him unprepared to face the world.
“I’ll take 60 percent of the blame… ’cause it’s my life,” he fumed. getting fucked by other mothers, i.e. taking the position that if you fuck with me, I’ll fuck you or kill you.
Anyone with information about the shooting should call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS or log on to the Crime Stoppers website.
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