A person was shot inside a Brooklyn subway station Thursday afternoon and rushed to a hospital in critical condition police said.
via: The Independent
The NYPD said that the incident unfolded at around 4.45pm on Thursday as the train was travelling between stops in downtown Brooklyn.
Michael Kemper, the New York Police Department’s chief of transit, said at a press conference that it began when a 32-year-old man got onto a northbound A train.
A 36-year-old man was already on the train and allegedly approached the other man, with witnesses describing him as “aggressive and provocative” towards him, Mr Kemper said.
Words were initially exchanged, before the verbal altercation escalated into a physical one.
At one point, police said the 36-year-old pulled out a knife or a razor blade – but then put it down while words were still being exchanged.
The fight again became physical and the 36-year-old man pulled out a firearm from his jacket and walked towards the other man “in a menacing way” while yelling at him, police said.
“During this physical confrontation, that gun, we believe, was removed from the 36-year-old by the 32-year-old, and the 32-year-old fired multiple shots, striking the 36-year-old,” Mr Kemper said.
In a second press conference on Friday morning, Mr Kemper said that new evidence and extended video footage had captured a woman – who was believed to be travelling with the 32-year-old man – appearing to cut the 36-year-old man with a sharp object during the altercation.
Video footage circulating online appears to show a woman hovering near the two men as they fought.
At one point, the 36-year-old is heard asking “Did you stab me?” before appearing to pull a gun from his jacket and saying, “You stabbed me?”
Terrified passengers said that they heard multiple shots ring out as they tried to hide on the carriage floor from the carnage.
The subway pulled into Hoyt Schermerhorn station where officers at the station heard the shots being fired and ran to the scene.
Mr Kemper said that the officers were on scene within seconds, giving medical assistance, calling an ambulance and rounding up witnesses.
The 36-year-old man – who police said was the “aggressive” individual in the incident – was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. He was undergoing surgery on Thursday night.
The 32-year-old man was arrested on the scene. The small caliber firearm was recovered from the scene.
The identities of the two men have not been released but police do not believe they knew each other prior to the incident.
The transit police chief said officers were working to determine if charges would be filed in the case.
Fellow passengers also captured the terrifying ordeal in video footage, which appeared online.
In one video, a woman is heard screaming “let me out” in the packed train carriage, before the sound of shots being fired ring through the air. The train doors open and passengers are seen sprinting off the carriage screaming.
A journalist from ABC News was also at the scene during the frightening situation. She posted video on X of passengers all huddled together, crouched on the floor as the train remained stationary on the platform.
Officers are seen patrolling up and down the platform, as terrified passengers duck down.
Other horrific footage captured the two men in a physical scuffle on the train leading up to the shooting, with one man shouting aggressively at the other before appearing to pull the gun from his jacket.
Janno Leiber, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said at the press conference that is is “absolutely outrageous” that someone would bring a gun onto the subway and start a fight.
“The victim here, the police said, appears to be the aggressor. But the real victims are the people I saw in those videos who were having a harrowing time because they’re on a train with somebody with a gun,” Mr Lieber said.
The incident comes one week after New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced controversial plans to deploy the National Guard to the city’s subways to carry out random bag searches of passengers.
The full video of the altercation inside the A train approaching the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station in Brooklyn, New York where an altercation inside of the subway car ended with the man getting shot in the face. pic.twitter.com/xBbdaaxB33
— Ebro In The Morning (@EBROINTHEAM) March 15, 2024
Unfortunately, I was there when it happened. @ABC7NY https://t.co/XkA9R7Uu0k pic.twitter.com/1JBatME00a
— Joyce Philippe (@JoyceMeetsWorld) March 14, 2024
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