NY Mass Shooting: Bay Area Transit Agencies On Alert After Brooklyn Subway Attack
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – Transit agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area were on alert Tuesday after a gunman shot several people on a New York subway platform.
The shooting occurred at the 36th Street Station in Brooklyn around 8:34 a.m. eastern after a man wearing a gas mask and a construction vest set off a smoke grenade in a subway train when it arrived at the station. He then opened fire, hitting 10 subway riders and injuring 16 total.
New York authorities said they were still searching for the shooter hours later. While they have not called the attack terrorism, they have also not ruled it out.
Following the shooting, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) announced that its police force was on high alert, patrolling stations and trains. Police Chief Ed Alvarez released this statement:
"BART Police are in direct contact with federal authorities and at this time there is no credible threat to California. Nonetheless, BART Police will continue to conduct high visibility patrols through trains and stations and will use our system of more than 4,000 cameras to monitor the system. Riders are encouraged to report suspicious activity. Call BART Police Dispatch: 510-464-7000 or download the free BART Watch app available on the App Store and Google Play to make a report with your smartphone."
Police reported activity in downtown San Francisco – someone needed to be removed from the tracks between Montgomery and Embarcadero stations just a little after 9 a.m.
BART is recovering from an earlier problem. There is a major delay on the San Francisco Line in the SFO, Millbrae, Daly City and East Bay directions due to police activity.
— BART Alert (@SFBARTalert) April 12, 2022
While the TSA reported no warnings or credible threats to public transit in the Bay Area, the San Francisco Municipal Transit Authority (SFMTA or Muni) reported that they were also monitoring the situation.
"We are devastated to hear the news and our hearts go out to our transit colleagues in NY and everyone impacted. We are working with SFPD and monitoring the situation locally," said a Muni spokesperson.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) also announced its stations were being patrolled by Santa Clara Sheriff's deputies and two Explosive Ordinance Device (EOD) canines "will be patrolling the system randomly throughout the week."
" In light of the gruesome attack on a New York subway train, VTA is increasing transit patrol visibility on the light rail system, aboard trains, and at light rail stations throughout Santa Clara County," the VTA released in a statement. "Again, this increased security visibility is not responding to any threat but to ensure the riding public feels safe aboard the light rail system."
This story will be updated.