Commuters in New York City took cover after an “aggressive” passenger was shot in the head on a subway during rush hour on Thursday.
The shooting occurred on a northbound A train in Brooklyn shortly after 4:45 p.m., when a verbal dispute between two strangers escalated into a fight.
A 32-year-old man boarded the train at the Nostrand Avenue stop and was approached by a 36-year-old man who, according to witnesses, appeared “aggressive and provocative.”
As the train started moving, the 36-year-old flashed a sharp object believed to be a knife or razor blade, Transit Police Chief Michael Kemper said at a news conference.
At one point, he pulled a gun from his jacket and walked toward the 32-year-old as the verbal dispute escalated into a physical fight.
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 shooting occurred on a northbound A train in Brooklyn shortly after 4:45 p.m., when a verbal dispute between two strangers escalated into a fight.
A video from ABC reporter Joyce Philippe captures the chaos after gunfire rang out, as terrified passengers took cover and shouted for help
Social media users shared a clip of the fight that led to the shooting, showing the 36-year-old, who is wearing a black hoodie, punching the other man several times.
The 36-year-old also punched a woman, who appeared to have stabbed him in the back several times 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.
At some point, the hooded man took off his jacket, revealing the gun and proceeded to load it.
Passengers can be heard desperately shouting, “Get me out, get me out,” before the car doors were opened.
The 36-year-old also punched a woman (pictured right) in jeans, 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.
The video does not capture the moment the 32-year-old took the gun from the aggressive attacker, but several shots can be heard in the background.
A 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.
A video from ABC reporter Joyce Philippe captures the chaos after gunfire rang out, as terrified passengers took cover and shouted for help.
Footage posted by social media user Owen Anderson shows emergency workers rushing the person on a wheeled stretcher to an ambulance
The 32-year-old gunman was arrested before entering the platform and remained in custody.
The 36-year-old man was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he underwent surgery and remained in critical condition.
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,” Kemper said, adding that authorities had not yet decided whether to charge the shooter.
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.’