The failure of security cameras in the New York subway station where a gunman opened fire this month is now the subject of an investigation, acting Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Inspector General Elizabeth Keating announced on Monday.
“As the horrific mass shooting two weeks ago in Sunset Park has raised questions about the MTA camera system, the Office of the Inspector General has initiated an inquiry into why the cameras were not transmitting on April 12 and a review of the maintenance and repair programme for the critical equipment,” Ms Keating said in a statement.
Police acknowledged that security cameras in three stations were not working on the morning of April 12, including in the Brooklyn station where the gunman set off a smoke device and shot 10 people.
The MTA has about 10,000 cameras at its 472 subway stations and other cameras in nearby stations helped police track gunman Frank James’s movements before and after the shooting.
Mr James also left behind a bag containing weapons, smoke grenades and the key to a U-Haul vehicle he had driven. The vehicle was found parked near a station where authorities believe Mr James entered the subway dressed in construction clothing.
He was apprehended the following day in New York and charged with a federal terrorism offence.
All of the shooting victims are expected to survive.
