Two apparently homeless people were hit by the same train and died inside a tunnel in Manhattan of the New York Subway, which has had one of the deadliest months in its history this April.
Last week, on 20 April, two other homeless men were run over in the tracks in Brooklyn, a week after the mass shooting that left 29 injured. And this Monday 25, a young man was shot dead at a station in Queens that connects to JFK airport.
Yesterday’s victims were a man and a woman, who were run over by a Line 1 train heading Downtown as it approached the station at Broadway and West 84th Street in Hamilton Heights around 10: 30 am, the NYPD said.
Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The couple had apparently been walking on the tracks when they were hit. It was not clear if or how the two knew each other, he said New York Post.
City Hall and MTA have been working hard to deal with road intrusions. “It is insane that people willfully intrude on Metro tracks, requiring transit workers to risk their own safety looking for camps day in and day out,” said Pat Warren, director of safety and security for the MTA.
“We shouldn’t have to keep saying it: the tracks are dangerous and walking on them is illegal, obviously endangers life and can affect thousands of other passengers. As Mayor (Eric) Adams says, there has to be a better alternative for people who need housing and help.”
It is estimated that more than 550 people live in the New York subway. April has been one of the most violent months in the history of the New York Subway, since its founding in 1904. On Tuesday 12, dozens of people were injured in a morning crime perpetrated by a lone gunman, who shot and set off at least two grenades on a moving train in Brooklyn.
Hours later, Mayor Adams announced that the number of New York police officers would be doubled in the underground system, where he had already activated a reinforced security plan since February to deal with the violence. But the violence has not stopped.
In general, this year there has been a long list of violent incidents in the New York subway this year, including robberies, attacks, accidents, natural deaths, suicides, fatal overdoses and homicides.
A blunt 84% of New Yorkers believe conditions have worsened in the city since March 2020, when the pandemic started, according to a recent survey. The majority cited the problems in the Metro as one of the main reasons for urban deterioration.