Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

News

Pepper Spray Incident On 5 Train Sickens Subway Riders


By

Jen Chung

Published May 12, 2011

Modified May 12, 2011


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 .

Firefighters leave the train station

 

WPIX 11


By

Jen Chung

Published May 12, 2011

Modified May 12, 2011


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

Yesterday evening, we received a tip about the Lexington Avenue subway line at 59th Street, "5 train gas scare at about 6:15. I followed a mob of passengers waiting on the platform as they ran out of the station yelling and holding their noses. I couldn't get an answer out of anyone that made sense." Well, it turns out a woman used her pepper spray on the train—which then sickened her fellow passengers.

The southbound train was about to pull into the station when the spraying occurred and it seems the woman was in some sort of confrontation with a man she was with when she broke out the pepper spray. Three people were treated at the scene while one was taken to a hospital.

Tagged

5 train

pepper spray

subway


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

NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal

Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."

By

Elizabeth Kim

Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:16 p.m. ET


NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting

Police say the teenager faces murder and weapons charges in Saturday’s shooting of 26-year-old Bronx resident Darrel Rodriguez.

By

Charles Lane

News

NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting

Police say the teenager faces murder and weapons charges in Saturday’s shooting of 26-year-old Bronx resident Darrel Rodriguez.

By

Charles Lane


Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds

By

Samantha Max

MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens

By

Ramsey Khalifeh

Former NYPD detective held on $1M bail after police say he shot driver on GWB

By

Brittany Kriegstein

and

Charles Lane


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 .