On Thursday morning, a shooting event occurred in Manhattan’s Upper West Side, unsettling the routine and tranquillity of the city. A lone assailant fired at and wounded another individual before taking off towards a nearby subway station. Noticing the imminent danger, passengers were advised to seek refuge on subway floors, resulting in considerable delays across the transit system.
The incident took place a little past 9 a.m. near a bustling part of the city, the intersection of 68th Street and Columbus Avenue. According to officials from the police department, the unfortunate victim suffered two bullet wounds, one to the leg and another to the shoulder.
The victim, a 47-year-old man, was hurriedly transported to the nearest hospital to receive immediate medical attention for his condition. Fortunately, his condition was later reported to be stable.
Specific details regarding the relationship between the target and the attacker, if any existed, remained undetermined. Similarly, the assailant’s reasoning behind the attack was not immediately known. As of reports, the police did not have the attacker in custody at the time and were still probing into the matter.
The event brought about visible and tangible effects of the fear, safety, and frustration issues New Yorkers have been experiencing in connection to their underground transit system. As the law enforcement officers continued their manhunt for the fugitive, passengers in various trains were asked to stay low and hunker down inside compartments.
Commuters, although unaware of the full extent of the situation unfolding around them, were not devoid of the palpable tension and unrest. There were accounts of New Yorkers being held up on trains for durations extending up to an hour. For this city that never sleeps, this was an unprecedented interruption of their usual rhythm.
In the immediate aftermath of the incident, C train service had to be halted across both directions. The decision came from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and was indicative of urgent countermeasures the system had to undertake. Operations did eventually resume but were marked with inevitable delays. The incident also echoed throughout the system, causing disruptions elsewhere.
A reporter stationed on a southbound C train, stopped between 81st and 72nd Streets, shared experiences from within the affected transit system. The train’s conductor had advised passengers to stay down and urged everyone to ensure their heads remained lowered.
By 9:50 a.m., there was an official announcement regarding an ongoing police investigation centered on the 72nd Street station, servicing the B and C train lines. Moments later, two officers arrived and began their inspection of the first car.
As police officers scanned the tracks and occasionally flashed their beams into the compartments, the passengers had to brave through it all, staying huddled on the floors of the train. At one juncture, the conductor sought to comfort the passengers, assuring them that the assailant was not in the immediate vicinity of their cart.
Around 10:10 a.m., specially equipped police personnel initiated a process of evacuating the C train and other surrounding ones. They guided the passengers, many visibly shaken and in tears, through the tracks onto the platform at the 72nd Street station.
Following the safe evacuation, the passengers found themselves taken to the surface, away from the underground transit system. The 72nd Street station was subsequently cordoned off with tape by police and Fire Department officials, signaling the station’s closure post-evacuation.
New York City had witnessed crime rates across its entire transit system climbing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020. However, the last year exhibited a turn in tide with crime rates dropping. Nevertheless, safety while commuting via subway remained on top of worries for regular users.
In a disturbing instance that took place in February, subway operations was halted during morning hours following an attack on an A train. The incident resulted in injuries to a conductor. Such sporadic yet alarming instances further underline the concerns over subway safety.
In a subsequent response, Gov. Kathy Hochul enlisted the help of state troopers and National Guard members. Hundreds of them were deployed to patrol the subway system, meanwhile examining passenger bags, ensuring an additional layer of security.