An incident occurred this week in a Bronx subway station where an MTA employee was attacked by a group of individuals, according to police reports. The 55-year-old worker was on the mezzanine level at the Bruckner Boulevard and Hunts Point Avenue 6 station around 1:45 a.m. on Tuesday when four suspects approached him and instigated a confrontation.
Authorities stated that two of the male suspects repeatedly struck the employee in the face before escaping on foot.
The MTA employee received treatment for minor injuries at the scene, police said. Additionally, two women accompanying the suspects fled on a northbound No. 6 train after the altercation.
Images released by the NYPD on Wednesday displayed the suspects involved. One man was noted to be wearing a white T-shirt, gray sweatpants, and white sneakers, while the second was dressed in a black sweatshirt, black sweatpants, and sneakers of a similar color.
As for the women, one was seen wearing a black vest over a white shirt with black pants and black-and-white sneakers. The other female suspect was identified by a black jacket, blue shirt, blue jeans, and black sneakers.
This violent episode follows a recent incident in which a 34-year-old man, Byron Hernandez, who is reportedly an illegal immigrant from Honduras, allegedly pushed two men, aged 83 and 30, onto subway tracks at the Lexington Avenue 63rd Street station.
In another occurrence last week, a man named Sergio Santiago, 41, allegedly hurled an object at an NYPD officer during an arrest attempt at the Fordham Road station.
The NYPD noted a significant rise in transit crimes, with nearly a 20% increase reported in February, partly attributed to cold weather hindering enforcement of rules against subway passengers. A total of 192 crimes were logged in the system last month, marking an 18.5% increase from previous year statistics.
Anyone with information regarding this incident or related attacks on transit workers is encouraged to contact the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). Additionally, tips can be submitted through the Crimestoppers website.
