A gunman wearing a gas mask and orange construction vest is on the run in Brooklyn after shooting at least eight people on a packed subway train in Sunset Park during rush hour on Tuesday morning.
Shortly before 8.30am, the gunman - described by witnesses as a 5ft 5 black man, weighing 170lbs, wearing an orange construction vest and gas mask, is believed to have thrown a smoke bomb into a southbound R train at the 36th Street Station in Brooklyn, and started shooting as the doors of the train closed.
Eight people were shot including one who is now in a serious condition but fire department sources say 13 in total were injured; four suffered smoke inhalation and the 13th injured is a pregnant woman.
The terrified passengers were then trapped on the moving train until they it 36th Street. Video shows them spilling out onto the platform as soon as the doors opened, coughing as smoke billowed out from the subway car.
One witness told The New York Post the gunman - who was described as a '5ft 5 black man weighing 170lbs', fired 'too many rounds to count'.
NYPD units are now scouring the city's empty subway tunnels looking for the gunman, who is feared to have jumped onto the tracks at 36th Street and fled. An amber alert has been issued across New York City.