Malfunctioning cameras appear to be hindering the hunt for a gunman who shot 10 people in a rush hour attack on a New York City subway station.

Local officials for years have warned that subway cameras in the city have faced maintenance issues and chronic problems.

Police named Frank R James, 62, as a suspect, after first naming him as a person of interest after the attack.

Authorities say Mr James has posted bigoted and threatening rants online.

According to police, Mr James detonated two smoke grenades and opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun at Brooklyn's 36th Street station on Tuesday morning, striking 10 people.

Another 13 people suffered injuries as a result of falling down in the chaos, smoke inhalation or panic attacks. Mr James allegedly fled the scene.

Following the attack, New York mayor Eric Adams said that there "appeared to be some form of malfunction with the camera system".

Officials are now working to determine whether one or multiple cameras at the station were broken.

iting an anonymous law enforcement official, the New York Times has reported that none of the cameras at the station was fully operational.

New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has a network of almost 10,000 cameras spread across its 472 stations, which it said this week are checked regularly.

An investigation conducted by CBS, however, says officials were repeatedly warned over the last five years that the cameras were at risk of malfunctioning