For M.T.A. Workers, a Normal Tuesday Until Bullets Began to Fly

The banging on the door of his train cab was the first indication David Artis had that something was wrong on the N train he was operating in Brooklyn on Tuesday morning.

The problem was not clear at first, Mr. Artis said on Friday. But when he looked behind him, he saw smoke, and he could hear shouting. That was when he learned that a gunman had opened fire on the train — his workplace — during peak commuting hours.

“I’m like, ‘Oh my God,’” Mr. Artis said. Then, his training kicked in, and he called the shooting in to subway dispatchers and moved to get his passengers to safety.

On Friday, days after a horrific attack on the New York City subway system set off a tense, citywide manhunt, Mr. Artis, 47, and other transit workers offered a new view of the shooting, the underground panic that ensued and the workers’ role in keeping a violent spree from becoming more catastrophic.

Mr. Artis’s remarks came after he and six of his Metropolitan Transportation Authority colleagues were honored at a City Hall ceremony where Mayor Eric Adams praised their quick actions in the shooting’s immediate aftermath.

“Thanks to you, no passengers were left behind and no lives were lost,” Mr. Adams said, appearing via video feed while continuing to isolate after testing positive for the coronavirus.

The attack on Tuesday — during which the suspect, Frank R. James, released two smoke grenades and opened fire as the N train moved between stations — was the worst to occur on the subway in decades. Ten people were shot, and, according to federal prosecutors, a total of 30 people were injured.

Mr. James was charged on Wednesday under a federal terrorism statute and is being held without bail. The authorities are continuing to investigate a motive for the attack and how Mr. James spent the time between the shooting he is accused of and his arrest.

Throughout the investigation, law enforcement officials have commended transit workers for springing into action to limit the potential damage while guiding subway riders through the confusion.

Speaking after the City Hall ceremony, Mr. Artis and several of his colleagues insisted that they were just fulfilling their duties.

“I had to do my job and make sure my job was done to the best of my physical abilities,” said Raven Haynes, a conductor who was on the train with Mr. Artis. “That way, that chaotic day was less chaotic that it could have been.”

The train was heading toward the 36th Street stop, in the Sunset Park neighborhood, when the gunfire broke out. Ms. Haynes said she had heard Mr. Artis report a shooting over the radio, and when the train stopped, she opened the doors and immediately told passengers to switch to an R train that was waiting across the platform.

“At that moment, I finally looked down toward the front of the train, and I saw the whole entire second car engulfed in smoke, along with the whole north side of the platform,” she said.

Mr. Artis said that after locking the cab, he had run onto the platform, where he saw passengers fleeing and falling to the ground. Some were screaming about the gunman. There was blood on the train’s first cars and the platform, he said.

A photo shared on social media shows Mr. Artis on the platform, shouting to riders to get on the R as quickly as possible. Seeing some of the injured heed his advice, he radioed the authorities to let them know that medical personnel should be dispatched to the next station.

After that R left, Mr. Artis said, he saw bullet casings in the car where, the authorities say, Mr. James opened fire. Near him on the platform was a man who had been shot in the knee. Mr. Artis watched as another passenger removed his shirt to wrap it around the wound.

Throughout it all, Ms. Haynes, who has been a transit worker for only about 17 months, knew the crew had to remain under control.

“You having a calm demeanor helps your passengers stay calm, which helps them get out safely,” she said.

Outside the station, Parla Mejia was driving a B37 bus, which travels a route from Fort Hamilton in southwest Brooklyn to the Barclays Center. As she neared the 36th Street station, she saw people streaming up the stairs. As they crowded onto the bus, she said, all she understood was that the train they had been on was out of service.

It was not until several blocks later, near the 25th Street station, that she learned of the shooting.

“I saw plenty of students — teenagers, maybe about 20 or 30 of them, just running toward my bus,” said Ms. Mejia, another of the transit workers who was honored on Friday. “And there was a young lady there, calling, ‘Run, let’s go, come on, come on, let’s go.’”

Ms. Mejia, who has worked for the transportation authority for four years, tried to pack as many of the fleeing subway riders as she could onto the bus. She estimated that there were about 80 people crammed aboard, including in the front, where riders are typically forbidden.

“It was so packed that I said, ‘You guys have to brace yourself and hold on,’” she said. “I told them, ‘If you can put three in a seat, let’s. Let me get you guys safely to the end.’”

The children in the crowd were sobbing and screaming, Ms. Mejia said. As an aunt, she said, she knew it was crucial to try to keep them calm. “You could tell that they were traumatized.”

She drove them all to safety along a route she follows every day, and did her best to maintain order. She told them all that New Yorkers were strong and would endure. She advised the children to call their parents, giving out her name and her bus number to reassure them.

“My concern was to get the people to where they need to go,” she said. “There was no other way, but to just transport the passengers.”