Latest News
Gunman shoots 10 in New York subway after setting off smoke bomb, manhunt underway
By Maria Caspani, Jonathan Allen and Rami Ayyub [RNZ]
A gunman wearing a gas mask has set off a smoke bomb and shot 10 people in a New York subway car during the morning commute, authorities say.
New York City Police Department members investigate the crime scene after multiple people were shot and undetonated devices were found at a subway station in New York City.
It has prompted fresh vows by officials for measures to reverse a surge in violence in the city’s transit system.
Five of those shot were in critical but stable condition, and six others were injured by shrapnel from bullets and other sources, as well as a panicked crush of people fleeing the carriage as it quickly filled up with smoke, officials said. Some riders collapsed to the ground as they poured on to the platform in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park neighbourhood.
A massive manhunt for the perpetrator – described as a Black male with a heavy build, wearing a green construction-type vest and a hooded sweatshirt – was underway.
New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the shooting was not currently under investigation as an act of terrorism, although authorities would not rule anything out as a motive.
“This morning, as a Manhattan-bound N train waited to enter the 36th (Street) station, an individual on that train donned what appeared to be a gas mask, he then took a canister out of his bag and opened it,” Sewell told a press conference.
“The train at that time began to fill with smoke. He then opened fire, striking multiple people on the subway and in the platform,” she added.
Outside the station, in an area known for its thriving Chinatown and views of the Statue of Liberty, authorities shut down a dozen or so blocks and closed off the immediate area with yellow crime scene tape.
Students and staff at all schools in the neighbourhood were directed to shelter in place.
John Butsikares, a 15-year-old who passed through the 36th Street station soon after the incident, said the train conductor ordered everyone on the station platform to get on board.
“I didn’t know what happened. It was a scary moment. And then at 25th street (the next station) we were all told to get off. There was people screaming for medical assistance,” said Butsikares, who was going to school.
“It was just a scary moment. It was, everyone was packed together, and I didn’t know what happened until after.”
Passengers flee after multiple people were shot in the New York City subway, according to police who are searching for the gunman. https://t.co/joJOK1ccJ9 pic.twitter.com/4K6oWt9nqL
— ABC News (@ABC) April 12, 2022
‘Surge of crime’
New York, the United States’ most populous city, has seen a sharp rise in violent crime during the pandemic, including a spate of seemingly random attacks on New York City’s subway. The system is one of the world’s oldest and most extensive.
The spate of violent crime in the subway has included a number of attacks in which passengers have been pushed onto the tracks from platforms, including a Manhattan woman whose murder was seen as part of a surge in hate-driven attacks against Asian Americans.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD captain and Brooklyn borough president who took office in January, has vowed to make the city’s subway safer by increasing police patrols and expanding outreach to the mentally ill.
Speaking to CNN, Adams said Tuesday’s incident “was a senseless act of violence” and pledged to double the number of officers on patrol in the subway.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul pledged “the full resources of our state to fight this surge of crime, this insanity that is feeding our city.” The White House said its staff were in touch with Adams and Sewell to offer any assistance and that President Joe Biden had been briefed about the incident.
City transit investigators found containers with gasoline and additional unused smoke canisters on the train carriage and the shooter’s firearm jammed, preventing further deaths, television station NBC 4 New York reported, citing city transit sources.
But officials told WABC-TV that there were no working cameras at the 36th Street station, likely complicating any investigation. The NYPD and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which runs the city’s subways and buses, said they had no information about cameras not working.
After the shooting, local and federal law enforcement officers rushed to the scene, and many could be seen donning heavy-duty armour and helmets. They were watched by small crowds of people on sidewalks huddled against buildings in a drizzle.
Brooklyn resident Yayha Ibrahim said he saw people running from the station, and decided to walk down into it to see what was happening.
“I saw a lady, she was shot right in her leg and she was screaming for help,” he said. Rescue workers “did a good job of coming quick and fast, and the ambulance came in and they took her.”
Source : RNZ
The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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