Photo: Twitter
He's a hero.
By Alice Kelly — Written on Apr 14, 2022
After a 36-hour manhunt, New York police officers have arrested Frank James, the man accused of injuring over 20 commuters on a Brooklyn subway on Tuesday morning.
As survivors begin to share their stories, one man, in particular, is being praised for his heroic efforts.
Hourari Benkada shielded a pregnant woman during the Brooklyn subway shooting.
Appearing on Anderson Cooper 360 from his hospital bed, Benkada recounted the terrifying moment a man he was sitting beside on the N train opened fire.
"The guy was next to me, I didn't get a glimpse of his face. All you see is a black smoke bomb going off and then people bum-rushing to the back," he explained.
"This pregnant woman was in front of me. I was trying to help her. I didn't know if there were shots at first. I just thought it was a black smoke bomb," he continued.
Benkada hugged the woman to protect her from the bullets.
"She said 'I'm pregnant with a baby.' I hugged her and then the bum-rush continued," he further described.
"I got pushed and that's when I got shot in the back of my knee."
I was just focused on the pregnant woman and that is when I got struck in the leg. I was just on my way to work," he said.
Benkada said the incident has left him terrified to ever ride the train again.
The shooter is reported to have shot 33 bullets and tossed two smoke grenades on the subway floor. 10 people were shot while others were injured or suffered health impacts due to the smoke.
Fortunately, all victims have survived the horrific attack.
Frank James has been arrested in connection with the shooting.
The 62-year-old was arrested without incident by patrol officers in Manhattan's East Village neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon after calling in a tip that led to his capture himself.
James is reported to have traveled from a Philadelphia residence in a rented U-Haul that was found abandoned near the scene of the attack.
On Tuesday, authorities executed a search warrant on a Philadelphia storage unit linked to James and found "9mm ammunition, a threaded 9mm pistol barrel that allows for a silencer or suppresser to be attached, targets and .223 caliber ammunition, which is used with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle," among other things.
A search in the apartment James rented about 15 days before the attack recovered "an empty magazine for a Glock handgun, a taser, a high-capacity rifle magazine and a blue smoke cannister."
At this time, there is no clear motive for the attack.
Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. Based out of Brooklyn, New York, her work covers all things social justice, pop culture, and human interest. Keep up with her Twitter for more.