A teen was shot and killed after a gunman opened fire inside a moving subway train Friday afternoon in the latest instance of deadly violence in the public transit system.
Police said the 15-year-old was traveling on a crowded A train heading into the Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue station around 3:45 p.m. when he was shot in the chest. Police said it came after two groups of young people got into a heated argument, which escalated into violence.
A good Samaritan pulled him off the train while the suspect gunman, wearing all black, fled on foot. EMS removed the teen victim and rushed him to a local hospital in critical condition, where he died within the hour.
Police said they are looking at MTA surveillance camera footage, but also need witnesses to come forward.
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"There were numerous people on that train that may have seen or heard what transpired. We ask those individuals to contact our CrimeStoppers hotline," said NYPD Transit Bureau Chief Jason Wilcox.
MTA President Richard Davey said that while the incident "was not random, we have seen illegal guns, knives, weapons in our system. We need to get those out. This does not make our jobs any easier."
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The shooting Friday marks the fourth killing within the New York City transit system in two weeks. Three people died since Sept. 30 in stabbings, two in subway attacks and a third on a city bus. Friday's incident was the eighth homicide overall in the subway system in 2022.
Statistics show that crime on subways and buses is up more than 41 percent in 2022 compared to the same time period in 2021.
Asked Monday about transit safety, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was evaluating whether additional resources might be necessary.
