A video showing a subway attack against rider David Martin in Brooklyn, New York, has gone viral and made its way into the state’s governor’s race.
In the October 2022 video, a man lunges toward a person standing on a subway platform and pushes them. The video was shared by Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor, who is trying to unseat Governor Kathy Hochul. The video was first shared by CrimeStoppers.
“In the blink of an eye, I was pushed with full force into the train tracks,” victim David Martin told ABC 7. “Because I’m from New York, and I’ve always felt safe taking the train and now at 32 years old, I no longer feel safe and that’s not fair, and that’s not ok.”
Subway crime has been a growing concern in New York. According to ABC 7, “This is the 22nd subway shoving incident so far this year, and the second in a week.”
Here’s what you need to know about the Brooklyn, New York, subway attack of David Martin caught on video:
The Victim Fell on the Subway Tracks but Was Not Struck by a Train
This is the dangerous reality of life in Kathy Hochul’s New York
According to NBC New York, the victim was standing on the platform in the station at Myrtle and Wyckoff avenues in Bushwick, which serves the L and M lines.
The suspect, an unidentified stranger, shoved the victim, who fell on the tracks, around 3 p.m. The victim did not get struck by a train and is expected to recover. The motive for the shove is not clear. No arrests had been made as of October 23, 2022.
The suspect “was described as being about 6 feet tall and was last seen wearing a yellow hooded sweatshirt and black vest as he ran east on Myrtle Avenue,” NBC New York reported. Martin told ABC7, “People were told that I had no injuries, but I am laying in bed with a broken collarbone and my face is so swollen. And mentally I don’t know how to even get through this.”
Martin’s Mother Says He Is ‘Completely Traumatized’
The victim’s mother expressed outrage in an interview with the New York Post. She said her son was battered and traumatized, in the words of the Post. Martin, 32, is a waiter. His collarbone was broken in the attack, she told The Post.
“A straphanger randomly shoved onto Brooklyn subway tracks was left battered and traumatized to the point of being suicidal, his mom said Sunday — while blasting Mayor Eric Adams over soaring transit crime,” The Post wrote.
“He’s completely traumatized,” Audrey Martin, the victim’s mother, told The Post. “He wants to kill himself. I had to take a knife away from him this morning. He’s in a lot of pain. His shoulder is completely shot. His back is completely shot. His underarm is completely shot. His face is constantly burning.”
According to The Post, New York Mayor Eric Adams, who was criticized by the victim’s mother, and Hochul are now proposing to “flood the transit system with more NYPD and MTA cops” and add more surveillance cameras as well as increase room in mental health facilities.