CNN
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New York City police are on the hunt for a man seen pushing a subway commuter from the platform on the train tracks in Brooklyn before running away on Friday afternoon.
The NYPD has released security footage of the incident and confirmed the victim was not hit by a train but was physically injured.
The unidentified suspect “intentionally without being provoked charged at a 32-year-old male victim” who was walking by, pushing him on the tracks at the Wyckoff Avenue and Myrtle Avenue subway station around 2.40 p.m., the NYPD said in a statement late Saturday.
New York City has been reeling from several high-profile violent crimes in the past few months, including in its subway system, prompting officials to enhance their crime fighting strategies.
As of October 17, crime in the city’s subway system is up more than 41% with 1,813 incidents happening so far this year, up from 1,282 during the same time period last year, according to New York Police Department statistics. Nine homicides took place in the city’s subway system so far this year, officials said, and 40% of those responsible for the homicides had a history of mental health issues.
The newest incident comes as New York state and city officials are bolstering their efforts to combat crime and mental illness in New York City’s subway system with an increased police presence and new training for officers on engaging with homeless individuals.
The new initiatives will include a significant investment from the state’s public emergency fund to support a surge of roughly 1,200 additional overtime officer shifts on subway platforms and trains each day. However, officials did not say how much money the city will receive as part of the investment.
The transit authority will also employ unarmed security guards at turnstiles to increase security presence and deter fare evasion, Gov. Kathy Hochul said at a news conference Saturday.
Transit police officers will be deployed at four major commuter railroad hubs, including Penn Station, Grand Central Station, Atlantic Terminal, and Sutphin-Archer (Jamaica) Station, which will free up roughly 100 NYPD officers for deployments at other transit locations, according to a joint news release.
In September, Hochul announced an initiative to install two cameras in every subway car by 2024 to strengthen security coverage. The city has already installed more than 200 cameras across the system and is set to install an additional 100 cameras in the coming days, the governor said.