Rudy Pérez, 20, a construction worker, was struck in his left leg. Benkada told CNN that a bullet had gone through the back of his knee. Several victims, like Hourari Benkada, 27, who said he was sitting next to the gunman on the N train at the time of the attack, were shot in their lower limbs. The way the gunman fired the Glock might also have spared lives. James, who bought it legally in Columbus, Ohio, in 2011. It was sold new in Texas in 2006 and resold in Georgia, then in Massachusetts, and then finally to Mr.
The handgun was on its fourth owner, according to the law enforcement official. James’s high-capacity magazines were not made by Glock, according to the senior law enforcement official.) Such malfunctions can happen when a gun’s internal mechanisms are clogged with dirt, or when a magazine is attached that is not compatible with the handgun, Mr. The next round is pulled from the magazine but cannot go forward because it is blocked by the casing, according to Lenny Magill, founder and chief executive of Glock Store, a Nashville-based company that sells and distributes Glock parts and accessories online. The type of malfunction that occurred is known as a “double feed,” according to the senior law enforcement official, which occurs when the gun’s extractor fails to remove a spent casing. James had at least 57 more bullets at his disposal. At that point, based on the capacity of the three magazines - one discovered in the gun, another on the subway car’s floor and the third in a backpack - Mr. James loaded a second into his handgun, according to a senior law enforcement official with knowledge of the case, and squeezed off three more rounds.
Such extended-capacity magazines are illegal in New York State.Īfter firing off one entire magazine, Mr. He then began firing the first of three 30-round-capacity magazines into the car.
James, according to the police, pulled on a gas mask while riding an N train and dropped two devices that filled the car with smoke. James has been charged with the federal crime of committing a terrorist act on a mass transit system.Īt about 8:30 a.m., Mr. James - a 62-year-old with addresses in Philadelphia and Wisconsin - is how much worse the attack could have been. Whether it was the result of fate, fortune, a malfunctioning 9-millimeter handgun or poor marksmanship, what became clear as details emerged about Mr.