Illegal Immigrant Arrested After Attacking Veterans in NYC

A man who has been deported four times is accused of injuring an 83-year-old Air Force veteran and a 30-year-old man by pushing them onto subway tracks in New York City, a sanctuary city.

On March 10, the NYPD took 34-year-old Byron Posada Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant from Honduras, into custody under suspicion of attempted murder. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is urging local authorities not to let him go but to instead hand him over to federal agents.

“Byron Posada Hernandez is a repeat offender and an illegal immigrant who has been sent back to Honduras four times; he shouldn’t have been able to roam our streets and harm innocent people,” said Lauren Biss from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“We pray for the repose of the souls of the victims and their families. DHS is urging New York sanctuary officials to hold him and not let this dangerous individual return to the community,” the statement continued.

On March 8, veterans Richard Williams and John Rodriguez were waiting for a subway train at an Upper East Side station when Hernandez allegedly approached them unexpectedly and pushed them onto the tracks, according to police reports.

Rodriguez, who was injured and in a sling, reported seeing Williams bleeding from his head. Williams, who is a father and grandfather, is currently fighting for his life in a Manhattan hospital. His granddaughter, Samantha Loria, mentioned that he is in the intensive care unit and doctors are struggling to control the bleeding from his head.

Loria shared, “Grandpa sadly suffered multiple fractures in his body. He was bleeding from the brain. They can’t stop the bleeding. He hit his head on the railroad tracks, but thankfully, the train didn’t come.”

DHS noted that Posada Hernandez first entered the U.S. illegally on January 2, 2008, and was deported four times back to Honduras. After his last deportation in 2020, he crossed the border again at an unspecified time and place.

His criminal record in the U.S. includes 15 charges, ranging from simple assault to aggravated assault and drug possession.