Crime in the New York City subway system has claimed at least eight lives in the past year – including a father of three whose throat was slashed while protecting a police officer from a homeless thug.
Despite the senseless attacks on innocent straphangers, NYC Mayor Eric Adams claimed earlier this week that there was just a “perception” that crime was “out of control,” despite a 31% year-over-year increase. There were six murders on the subway last year.
Father-of-three Tommy Bailey was slashed across the neck by a homeless man on the L train to Atlantic Ave station in Brooklyn around 9 p.m. on September 30. At the time, he attempted to intervene when Alvin Charles began harassing an NYPD officer.
During an argument between the two, Charles pulled out a knife and stabbed 43-year-old Stemfitter in the neck.
“I just felt terrible. I mean nobody should ever have to die like that. It is so sad. Especially leaving three small children behind. I mean what is this family supposed to do now? The loss of the breadwinner. I mean, it’s just life changing for them in a really bad way,” Bailey’s friend Bill Abbate told Fox News Digital.
“Having to take charge of your own life by just walking to work or the grocery store or a doctor’s appointment not knowing if you’ll make it home. That is very scary.”
Police arrested Charles, who had previously been charged with assault for stabbing another man last year. He’s been on the loose since he was let out when a judge declined to hold him with $50,000.
Tommy Bailey, 43, was aboard the L train bound for Atlantic Ave Station in Brooklyn when he got into an argument with homeless passenger Alvin Charles, who molested a police officer on September 30. The homeless man pulled out a knife and cut Bailey’s throat
Bailey was a father of three children and was known as a hardworking man
Homeless man Alvin Charles (centre) was arrested and charged with Bailey’s murder
Bailey’s death is just one of a series of senseless murders on the subway, three of which occurred in the first three weeks of October.
On October 17, Heriberto Quintana, 48, was struck by a train during an altercation with Carlos Garcia, 50, at the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station in Queens. It is unclear whether he was pushed or if he stumbled onto the tracks during the argument because of a dropped mobile phone.
A week earlier, 15-year-old Jayjon Burnett was shot dead by a well-known gangbanger on a Far Rockaway A train just days before his 16th birthday.
Keyondre Russell, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder of Burnett and two counts of criminal firearm possession.
Assistant District Attorney Christine Occhiogrosso called the killing a “gang-related incident.”
Charles Moore, 38, and father, was stabbed in the back and chest after exiting a northbound four-wheeler in the Bronx at 10:30 p.m. on October 6. Saquan Lemons, 27, was arrested for allegedly stabbing Moore. According to police, the attack was indiscriminate and unprovoked.
Jayjon Burnett was allegedly shot dead by Keyondre Russell, 18, before his 16th birthday on October 14. The shooting came after a two-group argument on a Far Rockaway A train in NYC
Charles Moore, 38, and father, was stabbed in the back and chest after exiting a northbound four-wheeler in the Bronx at 10:30 p.m. on October 6. Moore is pictured at right with his family
Marcus Bethea, 24, was shot dead at the Jamaica Center subway station in April while working as a subway ticket thief.
Daniel Enriquez, 48, was riding the Q train going over the Manhattan Bridge when a gunman opened fire without warning on May 22.
The Goldman Sachs employee never rode the subway, his partner Adam Pollack told DailyMail.com at the time. But an Uber to and from Williamsburg would have cost him $80. Andrew Abdullah, 25, was arrested in this attack.
Another subway scream on June 9 at 137 Street – City College station – killed a 14-year-old from a stab wound to the abdomen. Police recovered a knife and broomstick believed to be involved in the crime.
Michelle Alyssa Go, 49, was killed on January 15 when she struck the subway tracks at the southbound N/Q/R/W platform on West 42nd Street at approximately 9:40 am in a senseless, unprovoked attack and was pushed on Broadway.
Simon Martial, 61, was arrested and charged a day later in Go’s death. He was committed to a psychiatric facility after prosecutors refused to challenge a mental evaluation that found him unfit to stand trial.
On New Year’s Day, Roland Huston was killed after jumping onto the tracks to rescue a man who had been attacked by a group of knife-wielding thugs. Two boys, 16 and 17, were arrested weeks later on murder and gang assault charges.
Marcus Bethea, 24, was shot dead at the Jamaica Center subway station in April while working as a subway ticket thief
Daniel Enriquez, 48, was riding the Q train going over the Manhattan Bridge when a gunman opened fire without warning on May 22
Michelle Alyssa Go, 49, was killed on January 15 when she was being pushed onto the southbound subway tracks by Simon Martial
On New Year’s Day, Roland Huston was killed after jumping onto the tracks to rescue a man who had been attacked by a group of teenagers
Despite the rising crime toll, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said Monday there was only a “perception” that crime in the Big Apple was out of control.
“That’s the combination I have to deal with, that perception and the actual crime. But we can’t get away with having 3.5 million people using our subway system,” he said.
Adams said there was an average of six crimes a day on the subways and insisted the crime rate was fine.
The mayor admitted there are “too many guns” on the streets of New York but said police did a great job seizing thousands of firearms.
“We have to be honest, and this average of six crimes a day doesn’t give the impression that it’s getting out of hand,” Adams said.
District Attorney Alvin Bragg previously promised to crack down on subway crime by establishing a special train task force. However, the implications of this are unclear.
Recent data shows that the number of subway homicides has risen to a 25-year high, despite falling ridership. Between 1997 and 2020, there were never more than five homicides a year on New York City subways.
That number rose to six in 2020, eight in 2021, and is already up to eight two and a half months from the end of the year.
Crime on the subway is up 42 percent, but ridership has almost halved.
Homicides in the city are down 14.8 percent, with 341 reported so far in 2022, compared to 400 last year.
Overall crime in the city has increased by 31.1 percent, with crime and robbery rates remaining high.
