train across the platform tonight, the suspect, his criminal history, and the search for a motive ron allen starts us off now with late details. >> reporter: tonight, a collective sigh of relief in new york city >> frank, why did you shoot all those people >> reporter: 62-year-old frank r. james is in custody, charged with a federal crime after the bloody attack in a brooklyn subway station during rush hour. governor kathy hochul announcing the news. >> the suspect has been arrested. [ applause ] >> reporter: the arrest comes after a 28-hour manhunt. police releasing several images of the suspect and appealing to the public for help in a bizarre twist, law enforcement officials say it was james himself who called the crime stoppers tip line, saying he heard police were looking for him, and he was at a mcdonald's in manhattan's east village. he said his phone was dying, so they should come quickly officers rushed there, but he was already gone they found james nearby, and he was taken into custody without incident around 1:30. >> we were able to shrink his world quickly. there was nowhere le

ron allen now with that part of the story. >> reporter: police swarming the scene of the attack as the massive search for the gunman expands >> this person is dangerous. they're asking individuals to be very vigilant and alert. >> reporter: officials are pleading for the public's help. and late today, announced a person of interest >> the suspect is a dark-skinned male and was wearing a neon orange vest and a gray colored sweatshirt >> reporter: this afternoon, investigators found a u-haul van a few miles from the scene of the attack they connected the vehicle to the suspect based on materials recovered on the scene, including a key to the u-haul apparently left behind by the gunman. the bomb squad searched the vehicle >> we cannot lose sight of victims in this city. we will use every resource we can to bring those to justice who continue to prey on the citizens of new york >> reporter: this has got to be one of the largest manhunts this city has undertaken in a long time. >> i think that's an accurate statement >> reporter: the police commissioner says police will do everything they c

let's go to ron allen joining us from london.'s talk about the penalties that these eu countries face. how does the situation impact the likelihood of it oil embargoed? >> it's kind of complicated, alex, this is all about the russians trying to overcome the sanctions that the united states and the eu have imposed on them. that's why they're acting for payment for gas in rubles, because it helps the russian economy. gives them some relief from the sanctions. the problem is there are 27 eu companies. they each have their own agendas. they've been trying to speak in one voice and stand together on issues like the sanctions. so, this russians come off gas ailes to two countries, and threatening to do more. that's basically where the lines are drawn here. in terms of penalties, we're talking about various state run, in some cases private energy companies. so many different countries. it gets very complicated as to what's happening. the bottom line is, the united states and the eu want to stay together on this. on sanctions. there's a

nbc news correspondent, ron allen, joins us from london. explain wry russia wants its gas paid for in rubles. why did the european union take the sand that they can't do it? for most of us, paying in rubles would be changing your dollars or your pounds into rubles. >> it means a lot more to the russians, obviously. it means that their strength of their economy, they see more currency coming to them in that form, and helps break the sanctions. the essential bank, for example, is sanctioned. there are some several hundred dollars worth of currency reserves that are frozen. the russians cannot get to them. the bottom line is, it is about the sanctions. that is what the european union does not want members to recede to this demand. that would break a contract that various countries have with the russian gas providers. they want to pay in euros or dollars. that is the way they are structured. i think the simple way of thinking about all of this is it is the beginning of another step in the russians trying to leverage their strongest industry. on

let me go to ron allen, who was just arrived on the scene. ron, we have a high shot. we see how many emergency, police, and emergency response vehicles are there. tell me what you're seeing? >> i'm at 37th street, about a block from the subway station, which is in the middle between 35th and 36th. so i'm several hundred feet away. . they are here talking to people in the crowd, talking to witnesses. and i was paying a lot of attention to the security camera systems that are in the subway to see exactly what happened and. and no one knew what was going on. it's 8:30 or so in the morning. what is now a rush hour. there's still a lot of people on the subway these days. and there are express trains and local trains that go through here. it's a residential area, a commercial area, an industrial area as well. there's a lot going on here. it's a fairly dense, brooklyn neighborhood and at this moment, no one knows what to make of all of this. the police have been sending out some information, that there was no active explosive device here found. not sure what more they know b

ron allen joins us with the latest. area. the southeastern part of south africa. it's an area that gets storms this time of year, but the residents are saying it's never rained like this in recent memory, and the president of the country is blaming climate change on that. the latest numbers that we have are some 40,000 people displaced. 443 dead. four dozen unaccounted for. and 4,000 homes destroyed. and many of these homes are shanties or shacks. this is a very poor area that has been hit the hardest. durbin is also the home to a huge port there, but it's also home to a lot of very poor people living in undeveloped conditions, in valleys, hillsides, that have become mudslides. there are people who are digging through the mud, trying to find loved ones. people trying to find water using burst pipes to find sources of water. there's no electricity in many areas. this all started last week, last tuesday when the rain started. and in some areas over the course of a couple days they have gotten what meteorologists have said

. >> joining me now is ron allen who is here in brooklyn with me and nbc news justice correspondent pete williams. so, pete, i understand you have new information. >> reporter: well, one of the questions has been how will they identify him? what sort of evidence was left behind? we now know according to law enforcement officials he left behind a fair amount of material. apparently, according to police he pulled this gas mask and the canister out of a bag that he was carrying and opened fire with a handgun that he was carrying and our understanding now is that he left all of that behind when he fled the scene, when he fled the car. now the shooting happened as the subway train was pulling in. it's going northbound, going from brooklyn towards manhattan. and as it's pulling into the 36th street station, that's when the gunman puts on the gas mask, sets off the smoke, and begins firing and then fled and left behind the gun, a glock 9 millimeter which had apparently jammed, the gas mask, the bag that he was carrying and smoke canisters. more than one smoke canister, we're told. there was als

. >> i'm joined by nbc's ron allen in brooklyn and nbc justice correspondent pete williams. ron, i don't know if you've had an opportunity to talk to sunset park residents. how is the neighborhood reacting? what else can you tell us about what you're seeing on the scene? >> reporter: i think most residents here are sort of shocked this has happened here. it seems to have little to do with this particular neighborhood at this point. we know nothing that suggests why the gunman opened fire, put on the gas mask here as the train was going into the 36th street station on the way presumably to new york, another few stops along the way. the police investigators said nothing that suggests why here, why now, why today. so i think for the most part, residents here are feeling a lot of questions about why this neighborhood. the bigger problem at this point i think that was just the manhunt, the search. where is this individual? the authorities aren't sure whether he got back on the train. there were some reports he ran into the subway tunnel. of course this is now many hours later. he

his first appearance today in federal court where a prosecutor said he terrified an entire city ron allenow with late details >> frank, why did you shoot all of those people >> reporter: after a massive manhunt, today frank james appeared in federal court wearing a green jail uniform, sitting silently with his attorneys. only nodding yes when the judge asked if he understood the charge he's facing, committing a terrorist act or other violence against a mass transportation system. prosecutors argue james should be denied bail, saying the attack during tuesday's morning's rush hour was carefully planned, causing terror through the entire city. after releasing smoke in a crowded train, investigators say he fired 33 rounds before his gun jammed police say during the chaos he shed the distinctive construction jacket he was wearing when he entered the station and fled on a train across the platform, blending with other riders defense attorneys requested a psychiatric evaluation and asked the public not to rush to judgment >> he called crime stoppers to help he told them where he was. mr. james

ron allen is my colleague at nbc news and msnbc, he's also on the news. ron, i know that you've been here for quite some time. as i was walking through, i was talking to some residents in the neighborhood who said that they were in side when this happened, but they could hear the reaction, they could hear people running up from the subway and screaming and running down the street. what information do you have? >> it was a crazy scene, by all accounts. you know, this was it about 8:30 in the morning. this is a very dense presidential neighborhood. there are a lot of small stores here, a lot of homes, apartment buildings. so, yes, this would've been a very busy time in the day. and remember, the subway, it seems that they had the train coming in, in that most people that we talked to have no idea of why they have to -- it appears that it's a fairly random location. it seems there's nothing here that was targeted, necessarily. again, all of these questions -- [inaudible] the nypd, the first officers made contact over there. we were told that it would happen s

so let's bring in nbc's ron allen, he is live at the scene in brooklyn. ron, let's start with this man. this person of interest, but we know about him? >> well, we know that he has ties to philadelphia and wisconsin, according to the police. we believe that he rented this u-haul van in philadelphia and drove here. it was found a few miles away from the attack. the police say that he was sitting on the railway, in a subway car, in the rare corner, wearing a helmet. this construction workers vest, and at some point, he put on a gas mask, set off the smoke bombs and opened fire. and he got off some 33 rounds. it's a miracle that no one was killed in these close quarters. then, how he escape from there is unclear. he's been on the run ever since. we don't know why he did this, but clearly, he seemed to have something very, very sinister in mind based on what he was carrying in that bag. he was on a train that was headed from here in brooklyn, on into new york city. and whether that was the final destination or whether this was the destination, it is unclear. b

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my nbc colleague ron allen covered the trial when it began. >> reporter: the real victims during thebosnia denies knowing about prison camps where enemies were tortured and killed. >> some time ago he was untouchable. now he's in court and it's great. >> reporter: he faces 66 charges each can send him to prison for life but prosecutors must connect him to specific crimes and convince three judges he knew atrocities were taking place and approved what was happening. >> he died while in custody before he could be convicted of his crimes and sadly, justice remains elusive for many of the victims of war. in 2013 nearly 40 soldiers for the armed forces of the democratic republic of congo accused of raping hundreds of women and dozens of girls, only two were convicted and the rest cleared. the second congo war, the deadliest since world war ii took the lives of 5 million people including those who died of disease and starvation and bashar al-assad never faced justice against the syrian people. the defiant dictator reemerged on the world scene unrepenaltying. joining me professor of law at

nbc news correspondent ron allen has more. >> frank, why did you shoot all of those people?er a massive manhunt frank james appeared in federal court, wearing a green jail uniform, sitting silently with his attorneys. only nodding yes when the judge asked if he understood the charges he's facing, committing a terrorist act or other violence against a mass transportation system. prosecutors argue james should be denied bail saying the attack during tuesday morning's rush hour was carefully planned causing terror through the entire city. after releasing smoke in a crowded train, investigators say he fired 33 rounds before his gun jammed. police say during the chaos james shed the distinctive construction worker's jacket he was wearing when he entered the station and fled on a train across the platform blending in with other riders. defense attorneys requested a psychiatric evaluation and asked the public not to rush to judgment. >> he called crime stoppers to help. he told them where he was. mr. james is entitled to a fair trial and we will ensure he receives one. >> reporter:

nbc news correspondent ron allen has more. >> reporter: a collective sigh of relief in new york city.f those people? >> reporter: 62-year-old frank r. james is in custody, charged with a federal crime after the bloody attack on a brooklyn subway station during rush however, governor kathy hochul announcing the news. >> the suspect has been arrested. >> reporter: the arrest comes after a 28-hour manhunt. police releasing several images of the suspect and appealing to the public for help. in a bizarre twist, law enforcement officials say it was james himself who calmed the crime stoppers tip line, saying he heard police were looking for him and he was at a mcdonald's in manhattan's east village. he said his phone was dying so they should come quickly. officers rushed there but he was already gone. they found james nearby and he was taken into custody without incident around 1:30. >> we were able to shrink his world quickly. there was nowhere left for him to run. >> reporter: this video from early tuesday morning shows james entering the subway in brooklyn, struggling to get through the