At least 10 people were shot dead and six were injured when a gunman opened fire on a subway train in Brooklyn, New York on Tuesday morning, authorities said. Some people were also treated for smoke inhalation from a smoke bomb and other injuries from the ensuing panic, firefighters said.
Five people were in critical but stable condition, authorities said.
A suspect was not in custody. New York Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the suspect was described as a black male, about 5ft 5in tall with a heavy build who was wearing a green construction-type vest and a gray hoodie .
Sewell told reporters the shooter put what appeared to be a gas mask on a Manhattan-bound subway train in Brooklyn just before 8:24 a.m. and opened a canister, which filled the train with smoke. The shooter then opened fire, hitting people on the subway and on the 36th Street station platform, Sewell said.
The shooting was not being investigated as an act of terrorism at the time, Sewell said. “We don’t know the motive at this time, but we’re not ruling anything out,” she said.
Sewell said people with photos and videos of the shooting are encouraged to contact the police department’s Crime Stoppers program.
An NYPD official told CBS News that a smoke device was found. There is a heavy police presence in the Sunset Park area.
Photos from the scene showed people tending to bloodied passengers lying on the station floor.
Subway trains D, N and R are stuck at stations in both directions in Brooklyn, and there are other delays as well.
Armen Hayrapetian
This is a developing story and will be updated.
-Pat Milton contributed reporting. The Associated Press contributed reporting.
