Man who shot another on subway unlikely to be charged

NEW YORK — A 32-year-old man who took a gun from a second man and shot him in the head during an altercation on a moving A train Thursday evening appears to have acted in self-defense and will not be criminally charged for now, the Brooklyn district attorney said Friday.

The shooting, which followed a frightening, chaotic confrontation on a crowded subway car during the evening rush, left the second man, 36-year-old Dajuan Robinson, in critical but stable condition. The gun he was shot with was one he brought onto the train and brandished during the altercation, the police said.

Oren Yaniv, a spokesperson for the district attorney, Eric Gonzalez, described the shooting as “shocking and deeply upsetting.”

“The investigation into this tragic incident is ongoing,” Yaniv said in a statement, “but, at this stage, evidence of self-defense precludes us from filing any criminal charges against the shooter.”

The confrontation between Robinson, who wound up being shot, and the 32-year-old man, Younece Obuad, occurred as the northbound A train pulled into Hoyt-schermerhorn station in Downtown Brooklyn around 4:45 p.m., police said.

The men, whose names have not been officially released, were identified by three law enforcement officials with knowledge of the investigation and internal police records shared with The New York Times.

Robinson and Obuad did not know each other, the police said, and it was not clear how the altercation began. But cellphone video of the episode that captured the minutes leading up to the shooting shows Robinson, the eventual victim, screaming threats and racist remarks at Obuad.

Officials were also searching for a woman who appeared to have stabbed Robinson before the shooting occurred.

In the video, Robinson stands over Obuad, repeatedly threatening him, saying “I will beat you up.” Eventually, Obuad stands up, and the two men square off.

Robinson wrestles Obuad into a seat and stands over him, pummeling Obuad. Just then, a woman rushes up and appears to stab Robinson in the lower back.

Robinson, blood seeping through his white T-shirt, pulls a gun from his coat and confronts both Obuad and the woman, who have moved to the far end of the subway car.

As other panicked riders rush to the other end of the car, the video shifts away from the fight. Gunshots and screaming can be heard.