A harrowing video reveals the moments leading up to the New York City subway shooting, in which the agitator accuses the other man of being a “migrant who beats up cops” in a heated argument.
The 36-year-old man, who appeared to start the argument, was shot in the head with his own gun after the other man, 32, wrestled the gun away from him and opened fire.
In the video recorded Thursday afternoon by a commuter on a northbound A train in Brooklyn, the aggressor, wearing a black hoodie and yellow baseball cap, can be heard hurling threats at the other man.
“F**k your kind. F**k your race. F**k you,” the 36-year-old mercilessly shouted at the 32-year-old, who was wearing a yellow shirt and black jacket.
“You think you’re going to beat up the cops? I’m going to kick your ass,” the man said, apparently referring to the January incident in which a group of migrant workers 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 ‘migrant beating up cops’ in a heated argument
The 36-year-old man, who appeared to start the argument, was shot in the head with his own gun after the other man, 32, wrestled the gun away from him and opened fire.
A video from ABC reporter Joyce Philippe captures the chaos after gunfire rang out, as terrified passengers took cover and shouted for help
“He thinks you’re a migrant,” a woman is heard saying as the tension escalates.
The 36-year-old punched the 32-year-old’s female companion, who appeared to stab him several times in the back as he repeatedly shouted, “Did you stab me?”
Blood visibly seeped through the man’s black hooded shirt as the two men struggled, with the 36-year-old man eventually sitting on top of the 32-year-old.
Other passengers begged the pair to stop when one person said: “Come on, there are babies here.”
A man wearing a reflective vest managed to separate the two boys, but the 36-year-old rushed at the woman and shouted: ‘I’m bleeding. You stabbed me, right?’
“I didn’t do anything,” she replied.
At one point, the hooded man threw down his jacket, exposing the gun, and began loading 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 the tension escalates
The 36-year-old also punched the woman, who appeared to have stabbed him in the back several times as he repeatedly shouted: “Did you stab me?”
At one point, the hooded man threw down his jacket, exposing the gun, and began loading it as he attacked the 32-year-old.
Blood visibly seeped through the man’s black hooded shirt as the two men struggled, with the 36-year-old man eventually sitting on top of the 32-year-old.
New York City commuters ran for cover after an “aggressive” passenger was shot in the head on a subway during rush hour on Thursday
The video does not capture the moment the 32-year-old took the gun 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 gunfire rang out as terrified passengers took cover and shouted for help.’
“Where is the NYPD, oh my God!” one woman exclaimed as others said, “close the door, close the door!”
The train pulled into the Hoyt-Schermerhorn Streets station, where law enforcement authorities who heard the gunshots swarmed the scene.
The 32-year-old gunman was arrested before entering the platform and remained in custody.
In another video that emerged after the shooting, he is seen lying on the stairs outside the subway and then being led out of the station in handcuffs.
Officers stormed the train where the shooting took place and found the 36-year-old man lying unmoving on the ground.
He was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he underwent surgery and remained in critical condition.
The 32-year-old gunman was arrested before entering the platform and remained in custody. He is seen lying on the stairs outside the subway
In another video that emerged after the shooting, he was led out of the station in handcuffs
Footage posted by social media user Owen Anderson shows emergency workers rushing the person on a wheeled stretcher to an ambulance.
“If you bring a gun on a train and start a fight, that is not right and absolutely outrageous,” Chief Kemper said.
He added that authorities have not yet determined whether the alleged shooter’s actions would be considered self-defense. No charges were filed against him Thursday evening.
Janno Lieber, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), said, “The victim here appears to be, as the chief said, the aggressor.”
He added: ‘But the real victims are the people I saw in those videos, having a harrowing time because they’re on the train with someone with a gun.’
Lincoln Restler, the city council member who represents the area, wrote on
The shooting on the nation’s busiest public transit system came less than a week after New York Governor Kathy Hochul deployed 750 National Guard members in an effort to stop rampant subway violence.
Footage posted by social media user Owen Anderson shows emergency workers rushing the person on a wheeled stretcher to an ambulance
New York’s Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said earlier this month he is bringing back bag checks for subway passengers and stationing 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 period last year.
Knives, box cutters, batons and guns are reportedly among the weapons the NYPD is looking for.
Crime in the subway has been on the rise lately, with 2023 seeing the most attacks on the subway since 1996. There have been three murders on the rails at the start of the year, compared to none at this point last year .
In May last year, a 24-year-old former Marine was seen putting an erratic subway passenger in a headlock until he died.
30-year-old Jordan Neely entered the subway and began threatening passengers.
He was pushed to the ground and became unconscious. When an ambulance team boarded the train, which remained on the platform, they were unable to revive him.
Police have chosen not to identify the 24-year-old man, who was released without charge after the incident.