New York authorities on Monday searched for a suspect who allegedly pushed a man into subway tracks, police said in a week of such an attack.
The alleged abuse took place Sunday night at Atlantic Avenue Station in Brooklyn after the suspect began shouting at the victim in a train car, New York Police Department Sgt. said Edward Riley.
After the subway stopped and the couple left the car, the suspect allegedly pushed the 29-year-old man onto the tracks below, Riley said. The man suffered minor injuries and climbed back onto the train platform on his own, he said.
A video released on Sunday shows a man in a dark coat and sweater pushing the victim off the podium. Someone nearby grabs the alleged attacker, who tears off that person’s hand before it starts.
Two other incidents occurred Wednesday night at 42nd Street / Bryant Park Station and Thursday at Union Square Station, both in Manhattan.
During the first incident, a suspect allegedly pushed a UPS employee into the field after refusing to give money to the man. In the second, a homeless man allegedly pushed a woman onto the tracks moments before the train approached.
The woman rolled up inside the two rails and lowered her head as the train passed through it.
“There are people in this city who are in great need of mental health care. The transit system is for those who use it for travel, ”said Sarah Feinberg, transit president for New York.
“MTA and NYC Transit, our staff are there in the system, we’re doing everything we can to keep commuters, New Yorkers safe. We have a crisis in this city with mentally ill people who need help, and that absolutely needs to be addressed, and I really want this mayor or the next mayor to take it, because we still have a long way to go, ”he said.
