Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Subway Shoving Suspect Has Violent History, Many Run-Ins With Police
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 31, 2012
Modified Dec 31, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published Dec 31, 2012
Modified Dec 31, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
While the authorities have not commented about the mental state of the woman charged with fatally shoving a man in front of an oncoming subway train, it's clear that Erika Menendez has been very troubled.
Police say that Menendez made statements admitting that she pushed Indian immigrant Sunando Sen into the path of a Queens-bound 7 train at the 40th Street-Lowery station in Queens on Thursday. She allegedly said, "I pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up."
The NY Times reports that the 31-year-old "had years of contact with New York City’s mental health and law enforcement establishments. She was treated by the psychiatric staffs of at least two city hospitals, and caseworkers visited her family home in Queens to provide further help. She was also arrested at least three times, according to the police, twice after violent confrontations."
In 2003, Menendez attacked retired firefighter Daniel Conlisk. He told the Daily News about his run-in:
Conlisk was taking out the trash at his Ridgewood, Queens, home, when Menendez appeared out of the darkness and randomly attacked him.
“I was going out with the recyclables. It was dark out. Then this girl was standing there in front of me. She was shouting, ‘You f---ed my mother!’ ” Conlisk recalled.
“She started charging at me. She started clawing me in the face. I was trying to get away from her,” he said.
Covered in his own blood, he retreated into his home.
“There was blood on my face, my chest and my neck,” he said.
When cops arrived, Menendez returned to the scene, screaming that Conlisk had “stole my rings in high school.”
After the assault, Conlisk took out two consecutive orders of protection against Menendez. He said Menendez’s boyfriend begged him not to file charges.
, "It gives me chills that she did this to the other guy. I guess I was lucky."
According to the Wall Street Journal, "Over the past 12 years, police have records of 14 encounters with Ms. Menendes... In at least four of those instances, the official said, Ms. Menendez’s mother, Maricela Mera, told police that Ms. Menendez had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, an illness marked by extreme shifts in mood, and was acting violently." Besides two instances of punching men (one of them being Conlisk), "In January 2010, the NYPD has a report of Ms. Menendez throwing a radio at a police officer and making threats. 'She appeared confused and irritated,' the official said. It wasn’t clear if Ms. Menendez was arrested."
A judge ordered a psychiatric exam for Menendez. An official told the Times that she was released from Bellevue in the past year.
Tagged
7 train
erika Menendez
fatal subway shove
mental health
queens
subway shoving
sunando sen
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
DSA to Mamdani: Fire NYPD commissioner if ICE doesn't leave NYC
The DSA's NYC chapter accused the NYPD of collaborating with ICE and demanded Mayor Mamdani hold Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch responsible.
By
Brigid Bergin
,
Elizabeth Kim
and
Ben Feuerherd
Published Oct 9, 2026 at 6:31 p.m. ET
Three people critically injured in Bronx vehicle crash
When officers arrived on the scene in Allerton Friday afternoon, they found three pedestrians who were unconscious with trauma to the head and body, according to the NYPD.
By
Kaya Laterman
News
Three people critically injured in Bronx vehicle crash
When officers arrived on the scene in Allerton Friday afternoon, they found three pedestrians who were unconscious with trauma to the head and body, according to the NYPD.
By
Kaya Laterman
NY will opt in Trump’s school choice program, Hochul says
By
Jon Campbell
Residents, lawmakers warned for months of potential for deadly ICE activity in Marble Hill
By
David Brand
Manhattan DA argues judge shouldn't dismiss state charges against Luigi Mangione
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .