What to Know
- The shooting came a week after Gov. Kathy Hochul sent the National Guard into the subway system to help police search people for weapons after a series of high-profile crimes on city trains
- Newly obtained video evidence brings the initially proposed narrative into question, with police saying Friday it appears a woman stabbed the 36-year-old before he pulled out a gun and the 32-year-old acted in apparent self-defense
- She was apparently with the 32-year-old who grabbed the gun and shot the older man; police are looking for her
The Brooklyn district attorney's office will not prosecute a subway rider who disarmed and shot a 36-year-old fare-beater after an argument aboard a train at the start of the evening rush a day ago, a spokesperson said Friday.
"Yesterday's shooting inside a crowded subway car was shocking and deeply upsetting," spokesman Oren Yaniv said in a statement. "The investigation into this tragic incident is ongoing but, at this stage, evidence of self-defense precludes us from filing any criminal charges against the shooter."
The development comes after investigators say they reviewed a wealth of video evidence illuminating the narrative.
According to investigators, a 36-year-old man walked through an emergency exit at Nostrand Avenue without paying and got on an A train around 4:30 p.m. About 10 minutes later, that man started an argument with a 32-year-old rider, and pulled out a gun after being stabbed by a woman who apparently had been traveling with the 32-year-old.
The 32-year-old grabbed the weapon and fired four times as the train approached the Hoyt-Schermerhorn stop, sending terrified commuters to the floor and wounding the man. He was last said to be in critical condition.
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Investigators are weighing whether charges should be filed against the woman seen on video stabbing the 36-year-old fare-beater. She is not in custody at this time.
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Investigators describe the 36-year-old who was shot as the apparent aggressor.
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"The small group of people that we catch not paying their fare are recidivists. They have guns, they have knives. Small things lead to big things," NYPD Deputy Commissioner of Operations Kaz Daughtry said. "We need to look for new technology that we can implement here in the transit system to help keep New Yorkers safe."
Cameras are expected to be on all subway trains by the end of the year, officials have said. It's not clear if tougher measures, like metal detectors, could be considered.
"When you lay out the evidence and the facts that someone walked into a train station with a gun, and you saw a fairly crowded A train where people were lying on top of each other, scared because someone pulled a gun -- I'm not sure whether it's for or against metal detectors, but that's what we saw," NYPD Chief of Department Jeffrey Maddrey said.
The violence, which came a week after Gov. Kathy Hochul flooded the transit system with 750 National Guard troops and other law enforcement personnel in a bid to curb crime, sent passengers fleeing the subway car as soon as the doors opened at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station. Police were able to make an immediate apprehension as people ran.
There is body camera footage, authorities said. It is not being released at this time.
Violence in the subway system is rare, with major crimes dropping nearly 3% from 2022 to 2023 and killings falling from 10 to five during the same span, according to police. But serious incidents have attracted attention, such as a passenger's slashing of a subway conductor in the neck last month. Three recent homicides also made headlines.
The optics of it all are part of the reason Hochul inundated the transit system with more armed personnel. It's not enough for people to be told police officers are in the stations or that security measures, like freshly reimplemented bag checks, are being implemented, she says -- people need to see them to feel safe.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber acknowledged the perception factor at a Friday press conference.
"Transit crime is 2% of the crime in the city of New York, but it has a huge disproportionate impact on people's sense of safety because they're in an environment where they can't move around as easily," Lieber said. "We're going to keep working with the NYPD ... and all the uniformed forces who are in the system to make sure we're getting the most crime prevention, crime deterrence ... and actual results in the numbers."
The shooting happened at a stop where the NYPD has a small office, and officers were on the platform.
Gunfire erupts on A train in Brooklyn
Video posted by a passenger shows the minutes leading up to the shooting. A man paces about the crowded car and threatens to beat up a seated man. They fight until someone breaks it up. But the shouting continues, and one man pulls what appears to be a gun out of his jacket. “Stop! Stop!” passengers yell.
The video does not show the actual shooting, though several loud bangs can be heard over the commotion of the passengers. Riders rush out when the doors open.
NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said at an earlier press conference Friday that the newly obtained video is key to the investigation, as it potentially shifts the narrative.
"That speaks to the value of video that we walk about all the time," Kemper said. "And the value it gives our investigators to capture what exactly occurred on that train. You can never have too many witnesses."
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
