Brooklyn shooting illustrates broken policy

Another apparently random mass shooting, this time in Brooklyn, New York. A man gets onto the N train, rides to the 36^th Street station, whips out a pistol, and fires 33 shots. When he does that, he puts 29 people in the hospital, 10 with bullet wounds. But furthermore, he critically embarrasses the Mayor, the Acting Governor, the New York State legislature, and Democrats everywhere.

What happened in Brooklyn?

The New York Post has an update page carrying links to all their stories. These include a story about a “person of interest,” and a column asking the Mayor and Acting Governor what they’re going to do about this. ABC, CNN, and USA Today have other stories about the Brooklyn subway shooting.

The gunman was riding in the second car of the N train. As it was pulling into 36^th Street, he set off at least two smoke grenades. He then pulled out a Glock 9mm automatic and started shooting. Police say he had “extended magazines.” But two officers, speaking on the Q.T., said his gun jammed.

When the train did arrive at 36^th Street, everyone got off the train, and – we assume – transit police directed them to another train. In the confusion of the moment, the gunman escaped. Police searched the car and found his gun and the “extended magazines.” ABC says they also found

a hatchet, detonated and undetonated smoke grenades, a black garbage can, a rolling cart, gasoline and the key to a U-Haul van.

Police later found the van that matched that key and learned who rented it. This led them to identify their “person of interest.”

Who is the person of interest?

His name is Frank R. James; he’s 63 years old, happens to be black, and admits having mental issues. He said so in a YouTube video. Police found his YouTube account, where, they say, he left several “concerning” rants. At the time of this writing, his YouTube channel, “prophet oftruth88” (the space between is deliberate), is still up. YouTube has flagged many of his videos as “inappropriate for some viewers.” Nevertheless, while the channel is still up, one can readily see the subjects he treats. They cover everything from the Will Smith slapping incident to the Russia-Ukraine War. He seems to believe that when white people finish making war on one another, they’ll turn around and erase the black man.

But more interestingly, he singles out Mayor Eric Adams for criticism. “Mr. Mayor,” he says, “I am a victim of your mental health program.” That refers not only to his mental condition but also to the less than optimal service he says he’s gotten.

What’s going on in that place is violence. Not physical violence, but the kind of violence a child experiences in grade school… that would make him go get a gun and [start] shooting …

The police don’t want to call that threatening, but they do call it “concerning,” whatever that means.

Did he shoot those people in Brooklyn, or didn’t he?

The police don’t have Frank R. James in custody yet. In fact they don’t want to say he’s the one who shot those people. Well, if he isn’t, then somebody mugged him, somewhere between New York and Philadelphia, where he rented the van. He then took the keys, drove the van to a station up the line from 36^th Street, got on the N, and … well, we all know the rest. Perhaps until the police can track Mr. James down and talk to him, they don’t really know he did it. But coincidences like what the police are allowing for, happen only in the movies, and not very good ones, either.

How does this make people feel?

As one might expect, this has people in the Sunset Park neighborhood of that station feeling scared. According to at least one long-time worker, nothing like this has happened there before. But residents are more than scared. Those who can, are moving out. Moving companies and one-way renters are doing brisk business. One wonders whether U-Haul will run out of moving trucks to rent in New York, as they did in California. Will people start renting trucks from further away just to have trucks? Or rent moving trucks round trip if they just want to move to New Jersey, Connecticut, or someplace nearby?

Michael Goodwin at The Post has some harsh words for Mayor Adams and Acting Governor Hochul. He observes that the city has had three years of a crime wave, each year worse than the last. More to the point, he traces the problem to bail reform that lets people out within hours of their arrest for a violent offense. Plus other measures that effectively handcuff the police.

Furthermore, no one wants to talk about Frank James’ YouTube rants. They don’t fit the narrative. Blacks don’t do things like this, according to this narrative. Well, maybe they do if they get terrible service in outpatient mental health clinics – and then their heads are full of radical new ideas that come out of the mouths of some of the same people the city and State expect to keep law and order.

What next?

No one knows. Will the police catch up to Frank James, or not? For that matter, will you start hearing again about gun control? Actually, Sleepy Joe already went there – not much more milk to get from that cow. But things like this, plus simple one-on-one crimes, will keep happening as long as city officials are soft on crime.

As in many other bad things happening in this country, the only way to stop it is with your vote. Aside from new patriotic Officers of Election taking over voting precincts, we’re seeing a lot of voter’s remorse. Things like this Brooklyn shooting will only make that worse. The Democrats needed a high baseline of genuine voters before they could cheat their way to the top. They are now losing that baseline. Events like the Brooklyn subway shooting are the reason why.