On Thursday, during the evening rush hour, a man was shot multiple times and left critically wounded aboard a New York City subway train as it pulled into a busy station in downtown Brooklyn.
A week prior to the shooting incident, Governor Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to assist law enforcement in conducting weapon searches within the New York City subway system.
This decision was prompted by a string of high-profile crimes occurring on city trains. The aim was to enhance safety and curb violence in the public transportation network.
WATCH: People take cover on the New York City subway after man is shot in the head, suspect in custody pic.twitter.com/dmaGDjyW4x
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According to authorities, the shooting incident on Thursday unfolded aboard a moving New York City subway train. Two men, whose identities remain undisclosed, engaged in a confrontation followed by a physical altercation shortly before 4:45 p.m.
One of the men, aged 36, brandished a gun during the altercation. The other man, aged 32, seized possession of the handgun and fired at his adversary Michael Kemper, the Police Department’s chief of transit, confirmed that the 32-year-old fired multiple shots, striking the 36-year-old.
Witnesses told police the man who was shot was being “aggressive and provocative” toward the other one before the fight broke out, Kemper said.
The shooting incident occurred at a subway stop where the NYPD maintains a small office. Officers, who were already present on the platform, swiftly apprehended the suspect.
A video shared on social media by an ABC News journalist, who was onboard the train during the incident, captures a tense scene. Passengers are seen crouched on the floor, their faces etched with fear, while officers shout urgently on the platform.
In a gripping video shared by a passenger, the tense moments leading up to the subway shooting unfold. Within the crowded train car, a man paces restlessly, his agitation palpable. He threatens violence against a seated individual, and the situation escalates into a physical altercation.
Fellow passengers intervene to break up the fight, but the commotion persists. Suddenly, one man produces what seems to be a firearm from his jacket. The urgent cries of “Stop! Stop!” reverberate through the car as panic sets in.
While the video doesn’t capture the actual shooting, the commotion of the passengers is punctuated by several loud bangs.
“The true victims,” emphasized Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Janno Lieber during a news briefing, “are the individuals I witnessed in those videos—enduring harrowing moments as they found themselves trapped on a train with an armed assailant.”
Lieber expressed his outrage at the reckless act of bringing a gun onto a train and instigating a fight. He emphasized that this incident underscores the critical significance of ongoing city and state initiatives aimed at removing firearms from our streets.
Last week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul took a significant step to enhance safety in the city’s subway stations. She deployed 750 members of the National Guard to assist the NYPD with bag checks at entrances to busy train stations.
While this move aims to make mass transit safer, it also serves as a public message about the commitment to security and vigilance in the subway system.
While overall crime rates in the subway system have seen a decline of nearly 3% from 2022 to 2023, there have been notable incidents that demand attention. One such incident involved a passenger who slashed a subway conductor in the neck just last month.
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