The MTA said a dispute fueled the shooting on a C train during rush hour Tuesday night. Investigators said the shooter opened fire as the Manhattan bound train pulled into Ralph Avenue station.

A 17-year-old involved in the argument was hit and so was a 52-year-old bystander—both are recovering as police search for the suspect and a motive. 

What You Need To Know

  • Overall subway crime year-over-year through October is down 3.9%

  • However, felony assaults are up through October also at 3.9%
  • Hate crimes were down 19% year-over-year through October, but incidents against Jews and Muslims increased
  • The NYPD also said arrests are up, but many are repeat offenders

“We know these kinds of issues, while rare, are unsettling. We had 4 million customers safely ride our system yesterday [Tuesday], today presumably,” said New York City Transit President Richard Davey. “But there’s more to come, we’ll cooperate with police. Because we maybe have more cameras than a Las Vegas casino, these perpetrators are found.”

The shooting comes as NYPD Transit Chief Michael Kemper revealed the latest crime numbers for the subway system that showed a 3.9% rise in felony assaults through October of this year, compared with last year, even as overall crime is down the same amount.

But just for the month of October, there was a 5% increase in overall crime compared with October 2022.

Chief Kemper said the NYPD is doing its job and arrests are way up.

“Obviously our first goal is to prevent a crime, but if a crime unfortunately does occur, the second best thing is to make that arrest,” Kemper said. “And we find ourselves arresting the same people over and over again.”

Hate crimes were down 19% year-over-year through October. However, incidents against Jews were up 38%, with 18 so far this year. Hate crimes against Muslims were up 50%: 3 this year compared to 2 last year. Hate crimes against whites are up 250%, with 7 this year.

However, hate crimes against Asians or crimes motivated by sexual orientation are down by double digits.

Chief Kemper said summons and arrests for fare evasion are also up—they see this as a preventative tool, as most people who commit crimes in the subway also did not pay the fare.