Brooklyn subway shooting suspect denied bail in first court appearance

The man detained on a terror charge after shooting 10 people on a New York subway was denied bail and remanded in custody on Thursday after his first court appearance.

Frank James, 62, did not enter a plea on charges of violating a law that prohibits terrorist and violent attacks against mass transportation.

He was detained without incident by patrol officers in lower Manhattan on Wednesday after a 30-hour manhunt. James, who was raised in the Bronx, is accused of firing 33 shots with a 9mm Glock and detonating a smoke bomb in a packed subway carriage during the Tuesday morning rush hour.

Almost 30 people were injured, including at least four schoolchildren. The gunman fled the chaotic scene by boarding another train after dumping the gas mask and neon jacket he had been wearing.

James, who appeared in court in a khaki prison uniform and blue surgical mask, spoke only to acknowledge he had seen the complaint. He faces life in prison if convicted.

His defence lawyer consented to James being held, at least for now, but could apply for bail at a later stage.

James was arrested after several members of the public spotted him in a downtown McDonalds and called Crime Stoppers. He was detained by two patrol officers without back-up on a street corner nearby. Media reports that James also called police to tell them his own whereabouts have not been confirmed.

The complaint details a trove of evidence that authorities say link James to the mass shooting.

Authorities at the scene found a bag containing a Glock handgun, a plastic container of gasoline, a torch, a U-Haul key and multiple bank cards, as well as another bag containing fireworks.

In addition, a neon orange construction jacket, discarded on the Sunset Park subway platform where the gunman alighted, had a receipt for a storage unit in Philadelphia registered to James, according to the complaint.

Authorities have found no evidence linking him to terror organizations.

James was born and raised in New York City and moved to Milwaukee, though he had recently left Wisconsin and had briefly lived in Philadelphia. His previous criminal history includes nine arrests in New York between 1992 and 1998, mostly for misdemeanours, as well as three in New Jersey (1992, 1993 and 2007) for crimes including disorderly conduct and trespass.