Brooklyn subway shooting suspect faces life in prison on a federal charge prohibiting terror attacks on public transit

• The suspect in Tuesday's mass shooting at a Brooklyn subway station was arrested on Wednesday.
• He faces a count of committing terrorist attacks and other violence against a mass transit system.
• Frank James faces life in prison if convicted, authorities said.  

Frank James, the suspect in Tuesday's mass shooting at a Brooklyn subway station, faces life in prison on a federal charge prohibiting terror attacks on public transit, authorities said on Wednesday.

James was arrested in New York's East Village at 1:42 p.m. local time on Wednesday, more than 24 hours after the attack at the 36th Street subway station in Brooklyn's Sunset Park neighborhood that left ten people with gunshot wounds and more than a dozen others injured. 

US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace said at a press conference on Wednesday that James will be charged in Brooklyn Federal Court.

He is facing one count of committing terrorist attacks and other violence against a mass transportation system, according to an arrest warrant.

"He will be charged with committing yesterday's appalling crime," NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell added during Wednesday's press conference. "We were able to shrink his world quickly. There was nowhere else for him to run."

Police said a man wearing a gas mask set off smoke grenades in a subway car at around 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, before firing a gun at least 33 times. 

The gun left at the scene was used by police to confirm the identity of James, who was made a person of interest on Tuesday afternoon and on Wednesday was identified as the lone suspect in the shooting.

Authorities declined at the press conference to comment on any motive or if the attack was an act of terrorism.

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said James was previously arrested nine times in New York City, and another three times in New Jersey.