NEW YORK –
A 15-year-old boy was fatally shot on a New York subway practice Friday after a dispute between two teams of individuals escalated into violence.
It was the eighth killing in New York’s subway system this 12 months, at a time when a gradual improve in ridership after a steep decline throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been hampered by riders’ security issues.
According to police, who did not determine the sufferer, {the teenager} was in one of many teams that acquired into an argument on an A practice in Queens shortly earlier than 4 p.m.
As the practice neared the road’s closing cease in Far Rockaway, close to JFK Airport, somebody fired one shot, placing the boy within the chest. A passenger helped him off the practice when it reached the station. Police and emergency personnel took him to a close-by hospital, the place he was pronounced useless.
Police have been reviewing safety digicam footage from the station and the encompassing space. They did not say whether or not they had recognized any suspects or a extra particular motivation for the taking pictures.
Despite the deployment of greater than 1,000 extra cops within the system for the reason that pandemic started, a survey launched final month by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority discovered 70% of riders felt there have been too few officers within the system. Barely greater than 50% stated they felt secure or very secure on trains or in stations.
“We clearly have work to do,” New York City Transit President Richard Davey stated Friday. “We’ve acquired to cease this.”
NYPD Chief of Transit Jason Wilcox stated arrests have been made in all seven of the earlier killings this 12 months.
Last month, Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul introduced the MTA would put cameras on all of its practically 6,400 subway vehicles to rebuild riders’ religion within the system’s security. The undertaking is predicted to take three years to finish.
New York City’s subway system already has greater than 10,000 present safety cameras in its 472 stations.