The suspect who allegedly pushed a woman onto the tracks at a midtown Manhattan subway station was arrested, according to law enforcement sources, after he was connected to a second attack at the very same station.
Sabir Jones was brought into custody by Newark police outside of Newark Penn Station where he was said to be panhandling, three law enforcement sources told NBC New York. It was not immediately clear what charges the 39-year-old Jones would face.
Jones is accused of pushing a woman onto the tracks at the 53rd Street-Fifth Avenue station along the E and F lines around noon Wednesday, according to police. The 30-year-old victim was left bleeding on the railbed below from the violent shove, suffering a severe head injury.
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"As the train was pulling out of the station, she was pushed causing her head to strike the moving train. The train departed the station and then she fell onto the roadbed onto the tracks," NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said.
Riders who saw the attack helped the woman off the tracks. She was taken to NY-Presbyterian Hospital and is expected to survive, police said.
It was not clear what led up to the push, but the suspect took off immediately after, running out of the station on street level. Police believe the victim was either going to or from work when the suspect shoved her.
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The arrest also came after multiple law enforcement sources confirmed another man's story that he too was attacked by Jones on the same platform around the same time. The victim in that incident, a student, said he stepped off the train and was heading to school when he was punched from behind in the face.
The victim suffered a broken jaw that required him to undergo surgery Thursday, sources said.
Attorney information for Jones was not immediately available.
"Crime is 9% down from where it was before COVID. But that's no consolation to the family of this young woman," MTA Chair Janno Lieber said.
An investigation is ongoing.
