Syrians hail 'Ramadan hero' Zack Tahhan who helped NYC police track Brooklyn subway shooting suspect

Syrians have praised a "heroic" Syrian national in New York for allegedly helping police track down the suspect in Tuesday's Brooklyn subway shooting.

Syrian Zack Tahhan "the King of New York" alerted authorities on the whereabouts of Frank James, who police were tracking down after recognising James from news reports.

James was wanted in connection with Tuesday's shooting at the Brooklyn subway that left 29 people injured and five in critical conditions. He has since been arrested and charged with a federal terrorism offence over the attack.

For many Syrians, the actions of Tahhan were not surprising and his humourous videos evidence of the strong resilience of the immigrants.

"In Syria people are accustomed to helping each other, so I am not surprised by this young man's desire to help… and I hope the Western media will highlight these positive examples instead of focusing on the anomalies and negative cases for immigrants," Yousef Gharibi, a Syrian-based photojournalist, told The New Arab.

The King of New York. https://t.co/kKO2qe8aW1

— JQ LLC: The Impunity City (@ImpunityCity) April 14, 202

Twitter users demanded the New York authorities present Tahhan with a medal for sending the "right message and [being] passionate about the community and well-being of people".

Syrian hero Zack Dahhan saves the day in New York, identifies the Brooklyn shooter and calls the bolice. Allah 7ayo! https://t.co/Bbi6Rd4TCo

— Bissan بيسان (@Bissan_Fakih) April 14, 2022

One called Tahhan the "Ramadan hero we didn't know we all needed".

“Police arrest homegrown terrorist thanks to tip from Arab immigrant” is the headline we deserve but won’t be getting https://t.co/mdHbfUbYVC

— Basil Kahwash, MD (@basilmd0) April 14, 2022

Police tracked down James after receiving a tip about his potential whereabouts, an official told AP but did not mention Tahhan's involvement.