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Video: Trespassing Teens Hijack Stored Subway Car
By
Ben Yakas
Published May 16, 2015
Modified Apr 7, 2018
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By
Ben Yakas
Published May 16, 2015
Modified Apr 7, 2018
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The group of teens who have been involved in several high-profile acts of subway vandalism have struck again: new video shows the teens, who call themselves "Subway Conquestors," breaking into a stored subway car late at night and fooling around with the doors, announcements and signs. "They snuck onto a stored subway train and took control of it," the video uploader said. "The same youtube video also shows them assaulting a passenger with a stolen motorman's brake handle." Check it out below.
"On weekends, trains are stored on the express tracks on the Queens Boulevard line around union turnpike station," the uploader added. "They snuck on to one of those stored trains and took control of its systems using their stolen MTA keys."
This is just the latest incident involving these teens: last week, there was video of the teens using a key giving them access to off-limits areas in the subway system to sneak into a closed-off platform at Canal Street. There was one video which showed a garbage can explosion on the tracks; there was also videos of them tossing debris at the third rail and sparking dramatic explosions.
Last month, a Brooklyn teen who is the son of an MTA worker was arrested for allegedly placing a metal railsign across the subway tracks at Nostrand Avenue, causing an explosion that was caught on video. The suspect, Keyshawn Brown, is allegedly one of the "Conquestors."
(Brown pleaded guilty earlier this year to felony assault with a weapon for the incident in the video above involving the "stolen motorman's brake handle.")
The MTA has previously scoffed at media organizations giving them "a megaphone for their crimes," but in April, before Brown's arrest, one MTA train operator told us that when he informed police about this group, officers said they couldn't do anything until they were caught in the act.
"It's well known amongst the 'buff' community that they are the culprits," the train operator told us. "They commit the crimes and then brag about it on the Internet (mostly Facebook) until someone says something and it is taken down."
This incident, which reportedly took place a few months ago, has been reported to the NYPD. The tipster added, "I do know that the NYPD and MTA are working very diligently trying to track this gang down."
We've contacted the MTA for comment.
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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