NEW YORK — An argument on a Manhattan subway train took a violent turn when one of the straphangers pulled a gun and shot the other rider twice, according to the New York Police Department.
The shooting comes just hours after New York City Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul took a victory lap Friday, touting that crime in the city’s subway system dropped over the last three months.
The 34-year-old victim was on the Brooklyn-bound N train approaching the Canal St. station about 1 a.m. when he began quarreling with a man and a woman, police said.
As the argument heated up, the man pulled a gun and fired twice, striking the victim in the arm and chest.
The couple fled the train at Canal St., police said. No arrests have been made. EMS took the victim to Bellevue Hospital where he’s expected to survive.
Speaking at the Fulton Transit Center in the Financial District Friday, Hochul and Adams said putting additional officers in the subways helped bring about a 28% drop in robberies and a 16% reduction in overall subway crime since October.
There are 1.7 major crimes per 1 million subway riders so far in 2023 — the lowest figure since the pandemic hit the city, Hochul said.
“That is an amazing turnaround. The data is showing us that New Yorkers feel safer,” the governor said. “We had to answer the question ‘Will I be safe?’ We have answered that with a resounding yes.”
The NYPD put more cops below ground after a massive jump in crime in the subways left passengers rattled.
Ten people were murdered in the subway system by the end of last year, two more than the year before, NYPD officials said. Cops also saw a 14% jump in robberies and a 19% increase in assaults last year when compared to 2021.
NYPD Chief of Transportation Michael Kemper said the drop in crime was “swift and significant” with the increased police presence, new inpatient units at two psychiatric centers to treat the homeless and a move to put cameras in every subway car.
“The turnaround began immediately and it continues today,” he said.
