A 48-year-old man was fatally shot on a subway as it crossed the Manhattan Bridge on Sunday morning in an apparently unprovoked killing that sent riders scrambling for safety out of a busy Lower Manhattan subway station, authorities said.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was shot in the chest aboard a northbound Q train at around 11:45 a.m., police said. Witnesses told police that the gunman was pacing back and forth on the train, before pulling out a gun and opening fire on the man at close range.
It did not appear that the suspect and the victim knew each other, according to NYPD Chief of Department Kenneth Corey.
Police stopped the train at Canal Street, where frightened riders fled the busy platform as emergency workers placed the victim on a gurney. He was pronounced dead shortly after at Bellevue Hospital.
One other person received medical attention after suffering an anxiety attack during the mayhem, police said.
The gunman – described by police as a heavyset male in a hooded sweatshirt and gray sweatpants – fled the station and has not been apprehended. Police said they were reviewing MTA surveillance images of the scene.
The incident comes a little over a month after 10 people were shot aboard an R train in Brooklyn, a rare instance of mass violence within the transit system.
The shooting, along with several other high-profile incidents on the subway, have set some New Yorkers on edge, while renewing calls among officials to add additional security measures within the transit system.
In response to Sunday’s shooting, Corey said that the NYPD had added additional officers to the transit system.
“We’ve pushed a lot of additional officers down to the subway system,” he said. “We continue to do that to patrol this very extensive transit system that we have and we’re going to keep doing that.”
Both Q and N trains were running on the R line in both directions as the police investigation continued.
