What to Know
- Police are searching for a suspect who shoved a 74-year-old man onto subway tracks at an Upper East Side station in an unprovoked attack, according to police.
- The scary incident occurred just after midnight on Tuesday on the southbound side of the 68th Street-Hunter College station along the 6 line, police said.
- The suspect simply went up to the victim and allegedly shoved him onto the tracks, then took off out of the station. Police are searching for the suspect
Police are searching for a suspect who shoved a 74-year-old man onto subway tracks at an Upper East Side station in an unprovoked attack, according to police.
The scary incident occurred just after midnight on Tuesday on the southbound side of the 68th Street-Hunter College station along the 6 line, police said. The suspect simply went up to the victim and allegedly shoved him onto the tracks, then took off out of the station.
"Our perp pushed the victim, causing him to fall onto the tracks. Fortunately there was an MTA employee close by assisted our victim back up from the track," said NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper.
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The suspect is said to be about 5'9 and about 200 pounds, with salt and pepper hair and a goatee. He was last seen wearing a black collared shirt, brown pants and black sneakers, according to police. He is still on the run, and no arrests have yet been made.
Despite the incident, Kemper said that deploying extra police in the subways has made a difference this year.
"Crime is down 4.5% this year versus last year, which translates to about 70 less victims of crime in the subway system this year," said Kemper, who noted those crimes include a downward trend in subway pushes. "When we are looking at people being pushed on the track fortunately those are down also this year versus last year."
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Though Kemper was also quick to say: One subway push is one too many.
"One is shocking and scary to many, including us. And to be quite frank, it’s unacceptable. It’s our top priority. When someone is pushed or falls victim to a crime in the subway system. It’s our top priority to find them," he told NBC New York.
Kemper, who was confident the suspect would be caught, said there was a video camera that captured the incident and detectives were making progress in the case. An investigation is ongoing.
