Man shot in head with his own gun during New York subway brawl

Rush-hour fight leaves man in critical condition, amid rising violence on the city’s transport system

TERRIFIED New York City commuters were left trapped in a carriage with a gunman when a fight got out of control on Thursday during rush hour.

The shooting, which left one man in a critical condition after being shot in the head, occurred at about 4:45pm when one man, 32, was confronted by an “aggressive” commuter, 36, after boarding the train. The man who fired the gun will not be charged, prosecutors said last night.

It follows a series of assaults on New York City subways that have left three dead this year.

Just over a week ago, Kathy Hochul, the state’s Democrat governor, deployed 750 National Guard members to the subway in an attempt to tackle crime.

The incident started as a verbal dispute but escalated as the train left Brooklyn’s Nostrand Avenue station.

The 36 year-old shouted “I’ll beat you up” before hurling insults at the other man in an apparent attempt to instigate a fight. The assailant then lunged at the man, pushing him onto the seats and punching him several times, footage shared online shows.

As the fight continued, a woman could be seen appearing to stab him multiple times in the back. It was not immediately clear that she had a weapon but the 36-year-old was heard yelling “you stabbed me?”, as blood seeped through his shirt.

At one point, the aggressor, dressed in black, flashed a sharp object believed to be a knife or a razor blade before digging through his jacket to retrieve a gun, said Michael Kemper, the police department chief of transit. The man being assaulted yanked the gun from the assailant and fired several rounds, according to reports. At least four shots can be heard in footage. The assailant was reportedly shot in the head in front of dozens of commuters.

Joyce Philippe, an ABC journalist who was on the train in a different car, posted a video to social media where one woman can be heard screaming “Where’s the NYPD? Oh, my God.”

“People were crying, praying, huddled amongst each other . . .” Ms Phillipe told the New York Post: “It was a very fearful moment.” Some locals were

‘There are too many people willing to use guns indiscriminately. It makes me sick’

left questioning the use of the National Guard when they learned that none were at Hoyt-Schermerhorn station, where the shooter was arrested.

Zara Jones, a New York resident, told the New York Post: “I thought they were bringing in the National Guard to stop these kinds of things from happening. If they can’t stop it, who can?

“Why are subway shootings becoming a regular occurrence? There’s too many guns and too many people willing to use them indiscriminately. It makes me sick.”

Since the start of the year there have been eight shooting victims on the New York City transit system, up 700 per cent from the same period in 2023.