NEW YORK — Frank James, the man who injured 10 people after opening fire in a New York City subway car in 2022, was sentenced Thursday to serve 10 concurrent life sentences plus 10 years.
Authorities said James set off smoke grenades before firing at least 33 shots on a crowded N train on April 12, 2022. In January, James pleaded guilty to 10 federal terrorism charges and one firearm-related charge.
The sentence handed down Thursday topped the 18 years sought by attorneys for James but matched the one that prosecutors asked for, The New York Times reported.
Brooklyn subway mass shooter Frank James sentenced to 10 concurrent life sentences plus 10 years
— US Attorney EDNY (@EDNYnews) October 5, 2023
In court, James said the shootings were “cowardly acts of senseless violence” that he committed, though he also said it served as “a way of shining a light” on how cities fail poor residents, according to the newspaper.
Prosecutors said James spent years planning the shooting to “inflict maximum damage,” The Associated Press reported. His attorneys said he didn’t meant to kill anyone and that he struggled with serious mental illness.
“You did something terribly evil,” one of the victims, who was not identified by name, told James in court, according to the Times. “Your mother would be ashamed.”
The shooting injured 10 people between 16 and 60 years old. James, who had disguised himself as a construction worker on the day of the shooting, walked out of the subway station after the attack and later called police to turn himself in, according to the AP.
He has been jailed since his arrest in April 2022.
