- An NYC crowd cheered on a local security camera installer after he said he tipped off police about the whereabouts of the suspected Brooklyn subway shooter.
- Zack Tahhan told a crowd how he spotted accused shooter Frank R. James in Manhattan's East Village.
- NYPD officers arrested James shortly before 2 p.m. on Wednesday in the East Village.
A New York City crowd gathered and cheered on a local security camera installer on Wednesday after he said he tipped off the police about the whereabouts of the Brooklyn subway mass shooting suspect, leading to the accused gunman's arrest.
Zack Tahhan, 21, told a crowd, which included multiple reporters, how he first spotted shooting suspect Frank R. James in Manhattan's East Village and notified the New York Police Department.
Police had launched a manhunt for James on Tuesday, saying the shooting suspect fled the scene after firing 33 rounds at commuters on a N train in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, during the morning rush hour.
Tahhan said that he lost sleep as a result of Tuesday's shooting rampage that left 10 people struck by gunfire and more than a dozen others wounded, according to a video posted to Twitter by Gothamist reporter Jake Offenhartz.
—Jake Offenhartz (@jangelooff) April 13, 2022
"I see the police walking from over there. I told the police, 'This is the guy … Catch him, catch him.' Thank God, we catch him.' Thank you very much," Tahhan said to a cheering group of dozens who amassed on an East Village sidewalk.
In another video posted to Twitter, Tahhan said that he was working when he spotted James on the street.
"I thought, 'Oh shit this guy, let me call the police.' So I call them and we catch him," he said.
—Samantha Zirkin (@SamanthaZirkin) April 13, 2022
Police said NYPD officers arrested 62-year-old James in connection to the subway shooting shortly before 2 p.m. on Wednesday at the corner of St. Marks Place and 1st Avenue in the East Village thanks to a tip to the department's Crime Stoppers hotline.
It was not immediately clear whether Tahhan was the Crime Stoppers caller.
A law-enforcement source told the New York Post that James called Crime Stoppers on himself on Wednesday, saying he would be in the East Village.
"A call came into Crime Stoppers… The guy says, 'You know I think you're looking for me. I'm seeing my picture all over the news and I'll be around this McDonalds,'" a law-enforcement source told The Post.
An NYPD spokesperson could not confirm who made the Crime Stoppers call, telling Insider, "All calls made to Crime Stoppers are strictly confidential."
NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey told reporters at a press briefing on Wednesday that before cops made the arrest, a person called the Crime Stoppers hotline to report that the suspected gunman was at a McDonald's in the East Village.
"Officers respond to the McDonald's. He's not in the McDonald's," Corey said, adding, "They start driving around the neighborhood looking for him, they see him on the corner of St. Marks and First. And they take him into custody."
James, who has a lengthy criminal record, was apprehended without incident, police said. He was charged with a federal terrorism offense.