No Charges in 'Deeply Upsetting' Subway Shooting

NYC prosecutors say man acted in self-defense when he grabbed another man's gun, fired
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 15, 2024 11:22 AM CDT
Updated Mar 16, 2024 8:30 AM CDT
Cops: Man Shot During Fight on NYC Subway
Stock photo of a subway car in Brooklyn.   (Getty Images/Little Crush Film Co.)
UPDATE Mar 16, 2024 8:30 AM CDT

There won't be charges against a man who shot another on a New York City subway train. Although the Thursday shooting was "deeply upsetting," "evidence of self-defense precludes us from filing any criminal charges against the shooter," Oren Yaniv, a rep for the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, said Friday, per the AP. Authorities say the 36-year-old man who was shot had entered the subway with a gun and knife and acted as the aggressor when he pulled the gun against a 32-year-old man, who in turn disarmed the 36-year-old and shot him with his own gun, per ABC News. Police say that cellphone video shows a woman with the 32-year-old had stabbed the 36-year-old in the back before the gun was pulled, in a dispute that was possibly over a seat. The 36-year-old, who has 10 prior arrests, is said to be in critical but stable condition, with four gunshot wounds and two stab wounds, per police.

Mar 15, 2024 11:22 AM CDT

A man was shot multiple times and critically wounded on a New York City subway train as it arrived at a busy station in downtown Brooklyn on Thursday, panicking evening rush-hour passengers. 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. Authorities said Thursday's shooting involved two men who police haven't identified and who got into a verbal confrontation, and then a physical fight, aboard the moving train just before 4:45pm ET, per the AP.

One of the men, who police said was 36, pulled out a gun and brandished it. The other man, 32, got possession of the handgun and fired at the person he was arguing with, according to Michael Kemper, the Police Department's chief of transit. "The 32-year-old fired multiple shots, striking the 36-year-old," Kemper said at a media briefing. Witnesses told police the man who was shot was being "aggressive and provocative" toward the other one before the fight broke out, Kemper said. The shooting happened at a stop where the NYPD has a small office, and officers were on the platform and quickly took the suspect into custody.

story continues below

  • Video posted on social media by an ABC News journalist who was aboard the train when it happened shows passengers crouched on the floor as officers are heard shouting on the platform.
  • Another 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 doesn't show the actual shooting, though several loud bangs can be heard.
(More shooting stories.)

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