Dramatic video footage and witness accounts of New Yorkers carrying wounded commuters to safety have drawn comparisons to the heroic response to the September 11 terror attacks.
Immediately after the Brooklyn shooting, a video emerged online showing victims helping each other out of the smoking train and treating the wounded on the subway platform.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber likened the efforts to New Yorkers coming together after the Twin Towers were attacked by Al Quaeda terrorists in 2001.
“We saw New Yorkers in a difficult situation and emergency helping each other,” he said at a press conference.
“That’s the subway riders, that’s who New Yorkers are every day," Mr Lieber said.
“New Yorkers of all varieties can come together in small spaces [like the subway] and get along and create something bigger.”
Dozens of terrified commuters, some appearing to be suffering from gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation, poured off the Manhattan-bound N train as it arrived at 36th St Station moments later.
Commuters holding masks and scarves over their mouths ran from the scene, their screams audible, while checking behind them to see if they were still in danger.
An MTA worker could be heard telling the passengers to get on to another train or leave the station.
The footage was captured by a passenger one car along from the smoke-filled carriage and posted to Twitter by Isaac Abraham.
Gunshot victims were seen lying on the platform and the ground was bloodied, while frantic subway riders were seen running from the scene in a haze of smoke caused by suspected explosive devices.
Danny Mastrogiorgio, a Brooklyn resident, told The Independent‘s Richard Hall on the scene that he saw several victims of the attack get off the subway at 25 Street station.
“Eventually a bunch of ambulances pulled up. I saw them take one guy with a leg wound. They had him in the middle of the street there before the ambulance got him,” he said.
