A man waiting on a Manhattan subway platform was violently shoved into the path of an oncoming train Tuesday afternoon, the police said. He was in critical but stable condition several hours later.
Officers detained a man for questioning shortly after the attack, the police said. The man, who had not been arrested or charged, was being held at the Police Department’s Transit District 1 at the 59th Street-Columbus Circle subway station. The police had not identified the man or the shoving victim as of Tuesday evening.
Video of the attack, which happened around 1:30 p.m., shows a man in an orange jacket who appears to be looking down at his phone while standing near the edge of the southbound platform at the 18th Street No. 1 station.
A person in a dark coat is then seen passing behind the man in the orange jacket before doubling back and shoving him forcefully off the platform and into the path of a southbound train.
Other videos posted to social media appear to show a group of firefighters pulling the man out from between train cars and onto the platform. As he lies flat on the floor, his hand moves slightly. “He’s alive!” one person exclaims.
Emergency services workers responded to the scene, stabilized the man and put him on a stretcher, according to the Fire Department. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, the police said.