Man pushes 72-year-old onto NYC subway tracks in silent assault
A 40-year-old suspect shoved a 72-year-old man onto the tracks at the 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center station early Wednesday; the victim survived and the attacker was arrested.
Around 4 a.m. on Wednesday, a 40-year-old man named Francisco Garcia approached a 72-year-old passenger from behind on the northbound F and D platform at the 47th-50th Streets-Rockefeller Center station and pushed him onto the subway tracks without uttering a word. The senior citizen managed to scramble back onto the platform and was subsequently transported to Mount Sinai Medical Center, where he is listed as stable. Police arrested Garcia at the scene and charged him with assault and reckless endangerment; he appears to have no prior New York criminal record.
The attack occurred only weeks after a separate incident at West Fourth Street station, where a 27-year-old Army soldier, Aaron Kareem Watson, was also forced onto the tracks during a dispute and remains hospitalized in stable condition. The earlier suspect fled on a southbound B train and has not yet been apprehended. Both events highlight a spate of violent confrontations on the city’s subway system.
Why it matters
The assault underscores safety concerns on New York’s subway system and the need for vigilant security.
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