James, the 63-year-old gunman who opened fire on a subway train in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, in April 2022, saw his appeal rejected by a federal court on October 10, upholding his life sentence. Last year, James was sentenced to life imprisonment in a federal court in the Eastern District of New York after being convicted of his crimes.
On April 12, 2022, James unleashed chaos on an N train heading towards Manhattan, releasing smoke grenades as the train approached the 36th Street subway station. He fired 30 rounds, injuring 29 people, including 10 who were shot.
Among the victims was Aaron Hu, a Chinese-American teenager who was struck by two bullets in his left leg and three in his right. Aaron had recently graduated from a program at a community center in Chinatown and was interning at a financial office, having just started his first semester at community college.
When the Second Circuit Court of Appeals delivered its ruling on October 10, it affirmed both the conviction and the life sentence for James. His defense argued that he did not intend to kill, but the appellate court disagreed, stating, “There is ample evidence that James’s actions were aimed at killing as many people as possible.”
Prosecutors asserted that James had been planning the attack for over a year, indicating premeditated intent. Additionally, they found disturbing posts on his social media accounts that expressed racist and misanthropic sentiments, with hopes of seeing more mass shootings occur.
The ruling from the Second Circuit included a critical evaluation of James’s online activities, which included several videos discussing how to reduce the human population and expressing admiration for notorious criminals like Ted Bundy. The court concluded, “Given these facts, we see no reason to dispute the lower court’s finding regarding James’s intent to harm his victims.”
Photographs taken after the incident depict first responders rushing to aid victims, highlighting the urgency and gravity of the situation.
