“I was on 59th street on the ART train transferring to the N train on 59th. It was the first car, last seats. And I’m just not paying attention to that so I just walked in and sat down. The guy is next to me but I didn’t get a glimpse of his face.”

The NYPD continues to search for the gunman who caused the chaotic commute just before 8:30 am Tuesday, but has named Frank James, 62, as a person of interest. Police say the keys found at the crime scene belong to a U-Haul truck in Philadelphia that was rented by James.

Benkada, a housekeeping manager at the New Yorker Hotel, Benkada watched the man detonate a “smoke bomb” before firing shots just seconds after the train left the station.

Still visibly shaken, Benkada said “I don’t even know how I’m holding my phone” as he recounted what happened next.

All you see is black smoke after the smoke bomb went off. People bum-rushing to the back,” he told CNN. “About 10 shots went off. I think the gun jammed. I think he had an extended clip or something because I’ve never heard that many shots come off a handgun. It sounded like the loudest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

Benkada said his main priority was helping a hurt pregnant woman get off the train before being stampeded. Then Benkada described being shot.

“The worst pain of my entire life. I was just so shocked that the pain didn’t hit me until after.”