Dramatic video has captured a violent fight breaking out on a New York City subway on Thursday where the agitator ended up getting shot in the head as terrified bystanders scrambled for cover.
The wild video, taken by a straphanger aboard a northbound A train, shows two men trading punches as the train entered the Hoyt Schermerhorn subway station in Downtown Brooklyn at around 4:45 p.m. It is unclear what sparked the initial argument between the pair. The incident comes just days after Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed the National Guard to the transit system to search for weapons.
According to eyewitness reports, the duo was arguing for several minutes until one of the men, a 36-year-old dressed in all black with a baseball cap, began berating a 32-year-old, saying, "I’ll beat you up" and "You think you’re gonna beat up cops?"
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One woman off-camera can be heard saying, "He thinks you’re a migrant, he thinks you’re an immigrant," seemingly referring to the January Times Square incident where a mob of migrants attacked two police officers.
The 32-year-old, dressed in a yellow T-shirt and navy jacket, appears to get fed up with the haranguing, rises from his seat, and squares off against the 36-year-old as passengers flee to the other side of the car while pleading with the two to stop. "Come on, there’s babies on here!" one woman shouts out.
In the video, the larger man gets the upper hand in the scuffle and can be seen pounding the other man who curls up on a seat. That’s when a woman tries to intervene and appears to stab the 36-year-old in the back. Blood can be seen coming from his lower back.
"You stabbed me! Would you stab a cop?" the 36-year-old shouts out as he holds down the other man.
Another man tries to act as peacemaker, but the 36-year-old becomes further enraged with the woman.
"I’ll knock you up where you get off, I’m bleeding," he says.
The 36-year-old then rifles through his jacket before apparently pulling out a gun.
A shot can then be heard ringing out as the door opens, and the panicked passengers spill out of the train for cover. Another three shots can then be heard.
NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said at a press briefing that the 32-year-old wrestled the gun away from the 36-year-old.
"The 32-year-old fired multiple shots striking the 36-year-old," Kemper said.
Kemper said there were multiple police officers in the station when the train pulled into the stop and "heard the shots and were on the scene within seconds."
The 36-year-old was undergoing surgery on Thursday evening and was in critical condition while the 32-year-old was taken into custody.
Their names have not been released, and it’s unclear what charges either will face, if any.
Kemper said the 36-year-old also displayed a knife or a razor blade during the scuffle.
At a Friday press briefing, police revealed that the 36-year-old had not paid his fare and walked through an emergency gate before getting on the subway train.
Officials said he was likely suffering from mental health issues as during the incident he made inferences to being a police officer.
Earlier Friday, Mayor Eric Adams commented on the video and laid the blame on the city’s mental health crisis.
"When I looked at this tape and broke it down piece by piece and frame by frame, it is clear that it personifies what our pursuit is involved around those with severe mental health illnesses," Adams said on NY1 according to the New York Post.
"And as the investigation unfolds, we’re going to see the nexus between the actions that took place there and the many of the random acts of violence that just unnerves New Yorkers."
