An argument between two groups of young people resulted in one fatality and five injuries in a shooting at a New York subway station, according to authorities.
The shooting occurred shortly after the train’s doors opened at the Mount Eden Avenue station in The Bronx, around 4:38 pm.
This time coincides with the influx of students returning from school and commuters starting their evening travels.
A 34-year-old man lost his life in the incident. Among the injured were a 14-year-old girl, a 15-year-old boy, and three adults aged 28, 29, and 71.
Police indicated that some victims were involved in the dispute, while others were innocent bystanders awaiting the train. Four of the injuries were described as serious.
“We don’t believe this was a random shooting.
We do not believe that this was an individual indiscriminately firing into a train or a train station,” said Michael Kemper, NYPD’s chief of transit, during a press briefing.
Law enforcement is actively seeking at least one shooter who fled the scene, though they haven’t ruled out the possibility of multiple suspects.
The incident took place at the intersection of Mount Eden and Jerome Avenues in the Bronx.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes as passengers hurriedly exited the train and individuals on the platform sought refuge.
“The train was coming, and two kids were yelling.
There were at least six shots,” recounted Efrain Feliciano, 61, a witness to the New York Daily News.
“I saw sparkles as the bullets hit the wall,” he added.
“A woman was holding a child screaming.”
Video footage from news helicopters depicted a subway train halted at the station, with orange evidence cones marking the elevated platform.
Luis Rodriguez, 34, shared his experience with the New York Post, stating, “It was total pandemonium. It makes you scared to ride the train.”
Despite the rarity of crime on New York’s subway system, with approximately 3.8 million trips taken on average weekdays, safety concerns persist among passengers.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority reported 570 felony assaults in all of 2023.
Shootings are particularly infrequent occurrences; the last mass shooting on the subway system took place in 1984.
However, in 2022, a man with a handgun injured ten people on a train passing through Brooklyn.
Mayor Eric Adams, speaking on 1010 Wins radio after the recent shooting, acknowledged the efforts of law enforcement in curbing gun violence but emphasized the need to instill a sense of security among riders, especially as the subway system rebounds from significant ridership declines during the pandemic.
“Not only must people be safe, but what we have done in lowering crime, they must feel safe,” Adams said.
“And something like this can send shockwaves throughout our entire system.”
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