Six people were injured with one person in critical condition following a shooting at a New York subway station on Monday afternoon just ahead of the busy rush hour, firefighters said.
Authorities were alerted just after 4:30 pm (2130 GMT) and one patient in a critical condition was taken to the hospital, as were four people in serious condition and one with minor injuries, the fire department said. No motive was given for the shooting.
Broadcasters showed a major emergency response at the elevated Mount Eden Avenue subway station in the northern borough of the Bronx, nine miles (14 kilometers) north of Manhattan’s Times Square.
Police detectives and agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were at the scene conducting a fingerprint search following the shootings.
“We are on scene at an ongoing investigation at the Mount Eden Avenue Station on the (subway) in the Bronx. Please avoid the area… Use alternate routes and expect traffic in the area,” Kaz Daughtry, New York police deputy commissioner for operations, said on social media.
Mass shootings are common in the United States, where there are more guns than people and about a third of adults own a firearm.
Polls show a majority of Americans favor stricter gun regulations, but the powerful gun lobby and mobilized voters supporting the country’s culture of strong gun rights have repeatedly stymied lawmakers from taking action.
New York has a lower homicide rate than many major US cities, and possession of firearms in public is illegal for civilians in almost all cases.
