A harrowing video reveals the moments leading up to the shooting on the New York City subway as the agitator accuses the other man of being a ‘cop-beating migrant’ in a heated argument.
The 36-year-old man who appeared to start the altercation was shot in the head with his own gun after the other man, 32, wrestled the weapon away from him and opened fire.
In the video taken by a commuter on a northbound A train in Brooklyn Thursday afternoon, the attacker, wearing a black hoodie and a yellow baseball cap, can be heard hurling threats at the other man.
‘F**k your kind. Fuck your race. Fuck you,’ the 36-year-old shouted relentlessly at the 32-year-old, who was wearing a yellow shirt and black jacket.
‘You think you want to beat up cops? I’ll beat you, the man said, apparently referencing the January incident in which a group of migrants attacked NYPD officers in Times Square.
A harrowing video reveals the moments leading up to the New York City subway shooting as the agitator accuses the other man of being a ‘cop-hitting migrant’ in a heated argument
The 36-year-old man who appeared to initiate the altercation was shot in the head with his own gun after the other man, 32, wrestled the weapon away from him and opened fire.
Video from ABC reporter Joyce Philippe captures the chaos after shots rang out as terrified passengers ducked for cover and shouted for help
‘He thinks you’re a migrant,’ a nearby woman can be heard saying as the tension escalated.
The 36-year-old landed a punch on the 32-year-old’s female companion who appeared to have stabbed him in the back several times as he repeatedly shouted: ‘you stabbed me?’
Blood was visibly seeping through the black hoodie as the two men struggled, with the 36-year-old eventually sitting on top of the 32-year-old.
Other passengers begged the couple to stop when one person said, ‘come on, there are babies here.’
A man wearing a reflective vest managed to separate the two guys, but the 36-year-old rushed the woman, shouting: ‘I’m bleeding. You stabbed me, didn’t you?’
“I didn’t do anything,” she replied.
At one point, the hooded guy threw off his jacket, revealing the weapon, and proceeded to load it as he attacked the 32-year-old.
Passengers can be heard desperately shouting, ‘get me out, get me out’ before the car doors were opened.
“He thinks you’re a migrant,” a woman (pictured wearing a black shirt and light blue jeans) who appears to be accompanying the 32-year-old man can be heard saying as tensions escalated
The 36-year-old also landed a punch on the woman, who appeared to have stabbed him in the back several times as he repeatedly shouted: ‘you stabbed me?’
At one point, the hooded guy threw off his jacket, revealing the weapon, and proceeded to load it as he attacked the 32-year-old
Blood was visibly seeping through the black hoodie as the two men struggled, with the 36-year-old eventually sitting on top of the 32-year-old
New York City commuters ran for cover after an ‘aggressive’ rider was shot in the head on a subway train during rush hour Thursday
The video did not capture the moment the 32-year-old grabbed the firearm from the aggressive attacker, but at least four shots can be heard in the background.
Another video from ABC reporter Joyce Philippe captures the chaos after shots rang out as terrified passengers ducked for cover and shouted for help.’
‘Where’s the NYPD, oh my God!’ one woman exclaimed, while others said: ‘close the door, close the door!’
The train pulled into the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Street station, where law enforcement officers who heard the gunshots flooded the scene.
The 32-year-old shooter was arrested before he entered the platform and remained in custody.
He is seen lying on the steps outside the subway car, then being led out of the station in handcuffs in another video that emerged after the shooting.
Officers rushed into the train where the shooting took place and found the 36-year-old man lying on the floor unharmed.
He was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he underwent surgery and remained in critical condition.
The 32-year-old shooter was arrested before he entered the platform and remained in custody. He is seen lying on the steps outside the subway car
He was led out of the station in handcuffs in another video that emerged after the shooting
Footage posted by social media user Owen Anderson shows first responders rushing the person on a gurney into an ambulance.
“When you bring a gun on a train and you start a fight, that’s not right and it’s completely outrageous,” Chief Kemper said.
He added that authorities have not yet determined whether the alleged shooter’s actions will be considered self-defense. No charges have been brought against him as of Thursday evening.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) chairman Janno Lieber said: ‘The victim here, as the chief said, appears to be the aggressor.’
He added: ‘But the real victims are the people I saw in the videos who are shaken because they are on a train with someone with a gun.’
Lincoln Restler, the city council member who represents the area, wrote on X: ‘This is a terrible tragedy and deeply disturbing for the millions of New Yorkers who take the subway every day.’
The shooting on the nation’s busiest transit system came less than a week after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed 750 members of the National Guard in an effort to crack down on rampant subway violence.
Footage posted by social media user Owen Anderson shows first responders rushing the person on a gurney into an ambulance
NYC Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said earlier this month that he is bringing back bag checks to subway riders and station 750 National Guard members at the city’s busiest stations.
The Big Apple saw a 45 percent increase in major crimes in January compared to the same time last year.
Knives, box cutters, clubs and guns are reportedly among the weapons the NYPD is looking for.
Subway crime has been on the rise recently, with 2023 seeing the most subway assaults since 1996. There have been three homicides on the tracks to start the year, compared to none at this time last year.
Last May, a 24-year-old ex-marine was seen putting an erratic subway passenger in a headlock until he died.
30-year-old Jordan Neely entered the subway car and began threatening passengers.
He was held down on the floor and became unconscious. When an EMS crew boarded the train, which remained at the platform, they were unable to revive him.
Police have chosen not to identify the 24-year-old man, who was released without charge following the incident.