A man was shot in the head on a northbound A train as it approached the Hoyt-Schermerhorn St station during the Thursday afternoon rush, the NYPD said.

What You Need To Know

  • A man was shot in the head on a northbound A train as it approached the Hoyt-Schermerhorn St station during the Thursday afternoon rush, the NYPD said

  • A dispute between a 32-year-old man and a 36-year-old man escalated until the 36-year-old pulled out a gun. The 32-year-old man grabbed the gun and fired multiple rounds on the train

  • The 36-year-old was struck in the head and taken to the hospital, where he was undergoing surgery in critical condition

  • The 32-year-old was arrested before leaving the platform and is currently in police custody, police said

Police said a 32-year-old man entered the train at the Nostrand Ave station and was approached by a 36-year-old man. Witnesses described the 36-year-old as aggressive and provocative toward the 32-year-old.

A dispute between the two men became physical and escalated until the 36-year-old pulled out a gun. The 32-year-old man grabbed the gun and fired multiple rounds on the train, police said.

The 36-year-old was struck in the head and taken to the hospital, where he was undergoing surgery in critical condition.

The 32-year-old was arrested before leaving the platform and is currently in police custody, police said.

The shooting occurred after the train pulled into the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station with the doors open. Police were already stationed there.

"It is very important that it be known there were multiple police officers in this station, just feet away from where this train pulled in that actually heard the shots,” NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said. "They were on scene within seconds providing medical assistance, requesting an ambulance and gathering witnesses."

Police said the relationship between the two men is currently unknown, but they believe the two knew each other.

Video posted to X, formerly Twitter, showed almost everyone on the train huddling together on the floor. Passengers could be heard crying and yelling.

At a briefing on the incident Thursday night, MTA chair Janno Lieber said the subway is no place for guns.

“Get rid of the guns. People wanna have disagreements, that’s gonna happen in life. But when a disagreement has guns involved, we can’t live with it. We can’t live with it,” Lieber said.

Police estimate the number of people in the car to be between one to two dozen.