A man was critically injured on Tuesday afternoon after being shoved onto subway tracks ahead of an oncoming train in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. The 45-year-old victim was rushed to a hospital in critical condition following the incident that occurred at the 18th Street station on the No. 1 subway line.
Authorities took a person of interest into custody shortly after the incident, which took place just over a mile away from the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square. The names of the injured man and the individual in custody have not been released by the police.
While such incidents are rare compared to the vast number of daily subway rides, they have sparked concerns among New Yorkers. A similar push in East Harlem last March resulted in a fatality, and a woman died in San Francisco this summer after being shoved into a commuter train.
Despite these high-profile incidents, statistics show that major crimes in the subway system were down through November compared to the previous year. However, the number of killings increased from five to nine during the same period.
Recent violent incidents in the subway include the death of a woman who was set on fire while asleep on a train in Brooklyn on December 22. Additionally, a man slashed two individuals with a knife at Manhattan's Grand Central subway station on Christmas Eve, resulting in their survival with wrist and neck wounds.
Addressing concerns about subway safety, Mayor Eric Adams emphasized that overall crime in the subway system remains low despite these disturbing incidents. He reassured the public that while there have been high-profile cases, the subway system's safety is generally comparable to the city as a whole.
