‘This is Frank. You guys are looking for me’: Brooklyn subway shooting suspect tipped police to his location – National & International News – THU 14Apr2022

Brooklyn subway shooting suspect tipped police to his location. Feds warn of cyber attacks against energy firms. Israel: More deaths as tensions escalate ahead of Passover.

NATIONAL NEWS

Brooklyn subway shooting suspect tipped police to his location

Yesterday afternoon, 30 hours after a shooting in a Brooklyn subway station left nearly 30 people injured, police apprehended their suspect, Frank R. James, in a bustling section of East Village in Manhattan. Reports indicate that James himself called police and tipped them off to his location. He told them he would either be at a particular McDonalds or down the block charging his phone. When police arrived an hour later, he was indeed down the block charging his phone. Police arrested him without incident.

James, 62, seems to have been somewhat transient and has links to Wisconsin, Philadelphia, Ohio, New York and New Jersey. In the months leading up to the shooting, James had posted numerous videos and other media online in which he expressed sympathies for black nationalist ideology. He also had criticized New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ policies on crime and his push to clear out homeless encampments in the city. James also alluded to his mental health struggles and disparaged interactions he’d had with the city’s mental health services.

Police had originally only named James a “person of interest” since witnesses had described the attacker as 5’5″, 170 lbs, whereas James is in fact 6’2″ and close to 300 lbs. After re-interviewing some witnesses, police were more confident in considering James a suspect.

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Feds warn of possible Russian cyber attacks against energy firms

Several federal agencies issued an alert warning that malware had been detected in computer systems of some energy firms. The malware types, which the investigators refer to as “cyber tools”, are “exceptionally rare and dangerous”. The malware is designed to disable and interfere with firmware governing industrial processes in liquid natural gas (LNG) processing and other operations related to energy production.

Experts from one of the government’s private cyber security partners said that the malware was “consistent” with previous Russian attacks. However, government sources did not confirm the suspected origin of the malware. 

No one would say how they found the malware, only that they found it before any attack occurred. Robert M. Lee of Dragos, a cybersecurity firm, said, “We’re actually one step ahead of the adversary. None of us want them to understand where they screwed up. Big win”.

The malware would have disrupted various industrial processes, including possibly disabling safety controls. This could have resulted in the destruction of critical machinery and loss of life, as well as power outages in some areas.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Israel: More Palestinian deaths as tensions escalate

Israeli police and military personnel have killed 5 more Palestinians in the last 24 hours. Among those killed was a 34-year-old Palestinian human rights lawyer who was driving his nephews to school. Israeli troops stopped the car near Nablus in the West Bank and shot the lawyer in the chest. The Israeli military say they were in Nablus near a holy site purported to be the final resting place of the Biblical figure Joseph. Palestinians recently vandalized the site.

In the past two days, Israeli troops also killed four youths, including a teenager who police say had thrown a Molotov cocktail. So far, 12 Israelis, 2 Ukrainians and more than 20 Palestinians have been killed in recent clashes. Recent actions by Israelis hard-right government that have further marginalized both Israeli Arabs and Palestinians have stoked tensions.

There may yet be more trouble coming on Friday. That day, Jewish Passover celebrations will begin, with the Islamic holy month of Ramadan already under way. On Friday, Jewish pilgrims will be making their way to the Temple Mount, a site revered by both Jews and Muslims. Hamas and other groups have called on Palestinians to assemble at the site to “protect” it from Jewish activity.

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