Brooklyn shooting: police search for suspect after more than 20 injured

The commissioner said there was no known motive for the actions of the suspect. She sought to calm nerves among New Yorkers by saying the shooting was not being investigated as an act of terrorism, but she later said she was “not ruling out anything”.

Agents of the joint terrorism taskforce were at the scene, along with FBI and NYPD officers. Biden and the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, were briefed.

The attack brought fear and chaos to New York City. Witnesses said they had heard so many shots they lost count. Others said the shooting sounded like fireworks or popping, causing confusion among passengers.

Yav Montano, who was inside the carriage as the attack unfolded, shared with CNN a 10-second video he had captured as the train drew into the 36th Street station. People could be heard groaning and coughing and were seen covering their faces against thick smoke.

Montano said a smoke grenade had been let off about two minutes before the train reached the station. Noise erupted and he crouched to the floor in an attempt to shield himself.

“I didn’t realise it was shooting to start with,” Montano said. “It sounded like firecrackers, or a bunch of scattered popping.”

Montano estimated there had been 40 to 50 passengers in the carriage.

“There were some people whose pants were covered with blood,” he said, adding that there was blood on the floor.

“All I saw was people trampling each other, trampling over each other, trying to get into the door, which was locked, and just a lot of panic.

The passenger said the train had slowed to a halt shortly before it reached the 36th Street station.

“That’s when the chaos happened. Thank goodness the train moved, because I don’t know what would have happened otherwise,” he said.

Other graphic footage was recorded as the N train pulled in. As its doors opened, smoke poured out, followed by passengers, some screaming, others stumbling and falling to the platform. Phone images showed blood on the floor of the car.

Later, there were reports of Brooklyn shooting that the gun had been found, a Glock pistol, which had jammed during the incident, amid reports that the investigation was hampered by station security cameras not functioning.

New York has been grappling with high-profile violent incidents on the subway, prompting the relatively new mayor to beef up police patrols.

Adams, who is self-isolating with Covid, said: “We will not allow New Yorkers to be terrorised, even by a single individual.”

Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, told reporters: “We say: ‘No more.’ No more mass shootings, no more disrupting lives, creating heartbreak for people. We are sick and tired reading headlines about crimes. It has to stop.”

As the manhunt got under way, officers fanned out across the Sunset Park neighbourhood, a largely working-class area with large populations of Hispanic and Chinese descent. Schools were put on lockdown.

New York fire officers said they were looking at up to four undetonated devices, but later confirmed there were no active explosive devices.

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