CCTV cameras captured footage of a young man shoving another man onto the subway tracks in front of a moving train in Manhattan. The incident occurred at the 18th Street station on the afternoon of December 31st.
The suspect has been identified as 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins, who has been charged with attempted murder after pushing a 45-year-old victim in front of the moving train for apparently no reason. Kamel Hawkins has also been charged with second-degree assault.
Hawkins was arrested just moments after the incident at the 59th Street station. Police believe the attack was random, as they report that Hawkins did not know the victim and made no comments to him before pushing him in front of the oncoming train.
Reportedly, the train struck him, but he survived. The victim suffered a head injury and broken ribs.
Hawkins has a history of run-ins with the NYPD. In June 2019, he was charged with assault after allegedly slamming an officer to the ground on Flushing Avenue following a confrontation in which the officer observed Hawkins acting disorderly. The victim sustained a back injury.
“Anyone who attacks a cop in full uniform is capable of doing far worse to defenseless civilians,” Police Benevolent Association President Patrick Hendry told the New York Post. “Every time our justice system drops the ball on an assault on a police officer, it puts every New Yorker in danger.”
Mayor Eric Adams stated during an end-of-year news conference that random attacks have “overshadowed” New York City’s efforts to control subway crime in 2024. He emphasized that the growing issue of unchecked subway crime must be addressed.
“We are doing the job of bringing down the numbers, but as I say over and over, and I said in 2022, New Yorkers must feel safe,” Adams told reporters at City Hall. “People are seeing and feeling what they’re reading. So, our success is overshadowed.”
