The suspect arrested for shooting 10 people on the New York subway has been charged with a federal terror offence and could face life in prison.

Frank James, 62, "is now facing a federal charge for his actions," Michael J Driscoll, assistant director in charge of the FBI New York field, office told a news conference on Wednesday. "A terrorist attack on mass transit." 

US District Attorney Breon Peace said James has been charged with violating a federal prohibition on "terrorist and other violent attacks against mass transportation systems," and could face a life sentence if convicted.

Earlier, Mayor Eric Adams announced James' arrest

"My fellow New Yorkers, we got him," Mayor Eric Adams told a news conference.

James was spotted by officers on a Manhattan street and arrested, said New York Police Department commissioner Keechant Sewell.[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]

He was taken into custody without incident and will be charged over Tuesday's attack, she added.

No one was killed in the attack, which also left 13 others injured as they scrambled to get out of the station or suffered smoke inhalation. None of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries.

James had posted several videos on YouTube of himself delivering long, sometimes aggressive political tirades. His page was taken down later Wednesday for "violating YouTube's Community Guidelines." In his videos he also criticised New York's mayor.

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Uptick in gun crime

James had put on a gas mask just as the train was arriving at the station, then opened two smoke canisters and began shooting, police said.

"All you see is like a smoke, black smoke bomb going off, and then…people bum rushing to the back," one of the gunshot victims, Hourari Benkada, told CNN, referring to a charge by passengers towards the door at the end of the car.

"I got pushed and that's when I got shot in the back of my knee," he said.

Police later recovered a Glock 17 nine-millimeter handgun, three additional ammunition magazines and a hatchet from the scene.

Shootings in New York have risen this year and the uptick in violent gun crime has been a central focus for Adams since he took office in January.

Lax gun laws and a constitutionally guaranteed right to bear arms have repeatedly stymied attempts to clamp down on the number of weapons in circulation in the United States, despite a majority of Americans backing greater controls.

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