Man charged with attempted murder for shoving other man onto NYC subway tracks, NYPD says

Phil Corso

and

Andrew Giambrone

Published Dec 31, 2024

Modified Jan 1, 2025

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A man is in custody and being questioned after another man was pushed onto the subway tracks in a New Year's Eve attack in Manhattan.

Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images

Phil Corso

and

Andrew Giambrone

Published Dec 31, 2024

Modified Jan 1, 2025

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Police on Tuesday arrested a man they say pushed another man onto the subway tracks ahead of an oncoming train at the 18th Street station in Chelsea, according to authorities.

The incident occurred on the southbound 1 line shortly after 1:30 p.m., NYPD officials said. Emergency responders rushed the victim, a 45-year-old man, in critical condition to Bellevue Hospital, where police officials said he was stable as of Wednesday morning.

The NYPD said the suspect fled the scene, and officers arrested 23-year-old Brooklyn resident Kamel Hawkins about an hour later in connection with the shoving. He was charged with second-degree attempted murder and second-degree assault.

Hawkins was arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on Wednesday morning but did not enter a plea, according to his attorney D.J. Hairston. Hawkins was ordered held without bail and is due back before a judge next week, court records show.

The victim, who has not been publicly identified, sustained four broken ribs, a fractured skull and a ruptured spleen, states a criminal complaint provided by the Manhattan district attorney's office. Prosecutors were reviewing surveillance footage from the station that captured the incident as it happened.

A spokesperson for the NYPD on Wednesday said they did not have any details about a possible motive or whether Hawkins and the man he is accused of attacking knew each other.

As police conducted their investigation on Tuesday afternoon, southbound 1 trains temporarily skipped the 18th Street station, MTA officials said.

The incident comes just over a week after a woman was fatally set on fire on an F train in Brooklyn. Authorities on Tuesday identified the victim as 57-year-old Debrina Kawam of Toms River, New Jersey. The defendant in the case, 33-year-old Sebastian Zapeta, was indicted last week on charges of first- and second-degree murder, as well as arson. He is slated to return to court next week.

Hours before the shoving, Mayor Eric Adams on Tuesday addressed concerns about crime in the subway system, saying high-profile incidents have "overshadowed" efforts to reduce crime.

"Crime is not surging in the subway system," Adams said. "You know, we have some high profile incidents and we're really disturbed about it. But overall, crime is lowest."

"If you know someone is shoved to the subway system, on the tracks, people are seeing and feeling what they're reading," he added. "So our success is overshadowed."

Gov. Kathy Hochul in mid-December announced an increase in the number of New York National Guard members patrolling the subway system from 750 to 1,000. She cited a 10% drop in subway crime since March as part of her efforts to improve safety.

This story has been updated with additional information.

Tagged

Chelsea

public safety

manhattan

transportation