On 12 April the world was shocked and saddened by the news of yet another mass shooting in The US. In an underground subway station near Brooklyn, New York, a shooter injured at least 29 with a video released online showing terrorised commuters left fearful and confused. In the midst of the chaos one good samaritan, none other than a Syrian immigrant, Zack Tahhan, helped in the arrest of the suspect shooter.
The Hero
Zack Tahhan a 21 year old Syrian immigrant has been living in the USA for five years now working as a security camera technician at a shop located in Manhattan’s East Village. On the day of the incident, he noticed the suspect on his security monitor commenting on what happened in an impromptu press conference, “I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is the guy, we need to get him. He was walking down the street. I see the car of the police, I said, ‘Yo, this is the guy.’ We catch him, thank God”. Also adding about the incident, “He had a bag and was walking on the sidewalk. He put the bag on the street. I saw a lot of people come behind him. I said to the people, ‘Please guys, please keep some space, this guy is going to do something. People think I am crazy like maybe I am on drugs. But I’m not. I’m fasting.”
The Reaction
The internet hailed Tahhan a hero highlighting that in the midst of the race issues following the Ukraine crises; where the race of the immigrant determined whether they would be welcomed or not, Tahhan was made a reminder of the humane. As for the suspect, Frank James, a 62 years old American with multiple prior arrests is now being held by the NYPD as a, “person of interest”. The suspect opened a canister of gas in the subway car after putting on a face mask, then immediately started shooting at random according to NYPD official releases. They also announced that this isn’t considered an act of terrorism even though according to MSNBC an official said “Any time you have a person that uses a smoke device, you have a person who discharges a weapon in the system, that appeared to place a gas mask on his face, that is a person that is intentionally trying to terrorize our system”.
After what went down, many natives were quick to react and show gratitude to Zach for saving the day, noting how immigrants are not a reason to feel unsafe but quite the opposite.
And New York Attorney General, Letitia James tweeted “Thank you for your bravery today, Zack. All of New York is grateful”
Also, while police officers were escorting Zack for an interview lookers kept on praising him saying “you’re a hero”
