Mayor Zohran Mamdani believes New York City is making progress, though he was noncommittal about increasing police presence on the subways following a recent fatal shooting of a security guard on a train platform.
When asked if he would deploy more officers to reassure subway riders after the violent incident on Saturday, which has left the shooter still at large, he responded somewhat ambiguously. Perhaps he felt the need to express confidence in the police’s efforts rather than provide a direct answer.
“I have full confidence in our PD in their work to apprehend the suspect, and I am confident in the approach that they are taking at this time,” Mamdani said during a press conference in The Bronx, which wasn’t directly related to the shooting.
He extended condolences to the family of 26-year-old Darell Rodriguez, who was tragically shot in the chest around 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the 53rd Street/7th Avenue subway station by a man wearing a mask, who remains unidentified and unapprehended.
“I am heartbroken and outraged by this shooting,” Mamdani expressed, though he sidestepped a reporter’s query regarding the city’s response to the incident.
“Every single New Yorker deserves to be safe on every single train, on every single subway platform, no matter where they’re going across our five boroughs. We know we’ve made strides in making our subway safer, but this shooting painfully highlights how much work still needs to be done to eliminate gun violence in our city,” he added.
“At this time, you know, my heart goes out to the family of the individual who was killed and to the loved ones of this person.”
This story is still unfolding, so there may be more updates to follow.
