New York: In one of the most violent attacks ever on the city's public transit system, a man detonated a smoke bomb on a crowded New York subway train before opening fire on 10 people in April. The man pleaded guilty Tuesday to terrorism and weapons charges.

Frank James, 63, appeared in US District Court in Brooklyn and read aloud a brief statement confessing to the attack on the N train bound for Manhattan on April 12. For this crime, he can get a life sentence in prison.

James, who was wearing khaki prison overalls and seated at a table with his public defenders, said, "I got on a subway train carrying people." "I started shooting guns when I was on the train."

Also Read: China criticises the "unacceptable" Covid travel restrictions that are in place

According to the police report, James opened fire on 10 passengers during the morning rush hour as the train headed to an underground station in the Sunset Park neighborhood of Brooklyn. Thirteen others were injured in the stampede that followed. There was no death.

He initially pleaded not guilty to 10 counts of engaging in a terroristic attack, committing other acts of violence against a public transport system and engaging in a violent crime while in possession of a firearm in May.

James told the court on Tuesday that he only intended to cause "grievous bodily harm" and that he would "make a full statement expressing my remorse" at his upcoming sentencing hearing.

James's explanation of his intent was rejected by the US Attorney's office in Brooklyn, who informed the court that if James had gone to trial, the government could have established that his intent was lethal.

According to prosecutor Sarah Winick, the trajectory of the bullets showed the court that James shot his victims in the torso in an intentional attempt to kill them. They said they would be able to demonstrate that James had been preparing the attack since 2017.

Also Read: UK PM's immigration policy is unlikely to reduce unauthorized Channel crossings

Prosecutors said in a letter to the court last week that a prison sentence of 32 to 37 years would be appropriate under federal guidelines if James showed he accepted responsibility for the crime. Failure to do so could result in a jail term of 40 years.

According to defense lawyers, the sentencing guidelines suggested a prison term of between 16 and 18 years. James's eleven guilty pleas - spoken in a voice that sometimes cracked - were accepted by Judge William Kuntz.

The judge did not specify a sentencing date, but he directed the government's probation department to complete a pre-sentencing report by July 4. James smiled and shook hands with two of his public defenders before being led out of the courtroom by US marshals and back to the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

James was captured by police in Manhattan's East Village after a lengthy manhunt and 30 hours after the attack. The people present there took the picture of that person and shared it on social media.

According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), the keys to a rented U-Haul van, which had been left at the crime scene, led investigators to believe that James was responsible for the attack.

Also Read: OIC condemns Israeli minister's visit to the Al-Aqsa mosque compound

James, a native of the city's Bronx neighborhood, has recently lived in Philadelphia and Milwaukee. According to the NYPD, James has been arrested nine times in New York and three times in New Jersey.

A man was taken into custody in the fatal, unprovoked shooting of a man on a subway car crossing the Manhattan Bridge from Brooklyn into Manhattan less than two months after James' attack. Another man was taken into custody in June on suspicion of pushing a woman onto the tracks of a Bronx subway station.