A 23-year-old man faces attempted murder and assault charges after he allegedly pushed another man onto New York City subway tracks. Emergency crews responded to the scene after the 45-year-old victim (who has not been publicly identified) was shoved off the platform at about 1:30 p.m., EST at the 18th Street station in Chelsea, Manhattan. He was stabilized before pulling him from between the train, placing him on a stretcher and transporting him to the Bellevue Hospital in NYC. The victim suffered a head injury and broken rib, and remains in critical but stable condition.
The New York Police Department told CNN that transit police captured the suspect, identified as Kamel Hawkins, 23, of Brooklyn, a short time later, with authorities charging him with attempted murder and felony assault. According to The New York Times, Hawkins had a record of past arrests, including assault, harassment, and weapons possession. It is unclear what the attacker’s motive was or if there is any relationship between the suspect and the victim, police say.
The incident is just the latest in a string of dangerous incidents on New York City subways. Nearly two weeks ago, a woman sleeping on a stationary subway train car was intentionally set on fire and died. A suspect, a Guatemalan national in the country undocumented, was captured and charged in the incident.
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