Police have arrested a suspect after the gun attack that injured at least 23 people on the New York subway.

The man was arrested in New York on Wednesday, the authorities said at a press conference.

"We have him," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

The 62-year-old man had previously been searched for hours.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the suspect was arrested on the street after a tip from the Manhattan community.

Someone called a hotline and said the suspect was at a fast food restaurant in the East Village in southeast Manhattan, authorities said at a news conference on Wednesday.

He didn't resist.

The 62-year-old man is to be charged with "terrorist and other violent attacks" on public transport.

If convicted, he faces a life sentence, the New York authorities said at a press conference.

The suspect, who was born in New York and had last given residence in Philadelphia and Wisconsin, is known to the police – he has already been arrested nine times in different US states, it said at the press conference.

Motive initially unclear

In the incident, according to initial findings, a man opened fire on Tuesday morning during rush hour in a subway in the Brooklyn borough of New York.

The man was sitting in a back corner in the second car of a train bound for Manhattan.

He wore an orange-green construction worker vest, a corona protective mask, a gray hooded sweater and a neon-green construction worker helmet.

He then put on a kind of gas mask, opened two canisters from which smoke or fog streamed, and then opened fire.

According to the police, he shot a total of 33 times.

At least 23 people were injured - ten by gunfire, 13 in the panic that broke out afterwards or from smoke inhalation.

None of them were in mortal danger.

The man initially managed to escape.

How he managed to do this was unclear.

Among other things, a semi-automatic handgun, several magazines and a small ax were found at the crime scene.

A liquid suspected to be gasoline and a bag of fireworks were also found.

According to reports from the New York Times, a credit card with the suspect's name was among the items found.

According to police, the motive was initially unclear.

The incident was initially not investigated as an act of terrorism.

As the "New York Times" reports, videos with the suspect can be seen on a YouTube channel, in which he denigrates blacks and black women in particular.

He also criticized the policies of New York Mayor Eric Adams for his policies focusing on the homeless and safety in the subway system.