Subway shooting on the A train: Letters to the Editor — March 18, 2024

The Issue: The shooting on an A train in Brooklyn despite the deployment of police and National Guard.

The sheer violent pandemonium that has become a daily occurrence in the New York subway is an absolute disgrace (“Rush-hr. subway shoot,” March 15).

People who use the subway, especially those compelled to do so frequently, must now ride with immense fear and anxiety at the thought of being the victim of a crime. This is abominable, and needs to be effectively remedied.

Recidivist criminals and the mentally ill are responsible for the vast majority of this insane mayhem.
Until politicians come to their senses and reinstate bail to hold recidivists accountable — and institute viable solutions to oversee and attend to the ever-growing number of mentally ill who inhabit the subway system — straphangers will be left hanging and praying for something to quell their justified agitation.

Denis David

East Rockaway

Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams are living in an alternate universe. The former thinks that additional law enforcement in the subways will cure the problem and the latter says the city is safe when it isn’t.

What’s needed is repeal of the bail-reform laws, an increase in psychiatric beds and housing for the more serious, criminally insane offenders.

Police officers are disgusted, and as a result the NYPD is hemorrhaging officers, because hundreds of arrests yield little to no convictions. Anything other than that is window dressing.

Jackie Biaggi

The Bronx

Another day, another violent incident in the subways. This time an innocent passenger, fighting for his life, ends up shooting the aggressor with the latter’s own gun.

This comes not even a week after Hochul’s grand plan to send in the National Guard — without long guns, of course. Hey, Mayor Adams: It’s time to pivot again. Bring out the big guns and eliminate transit crime. Send in the cavalry.

Mike Lapinga

Staten Island

Vivid, frightening images of crazy black men are sure to confirm stereotypes and increase hostility towards black men (“Mentally ill repeat perps in half of attacks on MTA,” March 15).

Mental illness does not only affect the poor, black men who happen to wander into the subway and cause harm.

Renee Barrett

The Bronx

The subway shooting underscores a troubling trend in how we perceive and respond to acts of self-defense in public transportation.

It is evident that the 36-year-old individual was behaving aggressively. Witnesses described a tense exchange that escalated into a physical altercation, leading to the 32-year-old gaining control of the firearm and ultimately using it in self-defense.

This scenario bears striking similarities to another recent case involving Daniel Penny, who was arrested and prosecuted in New York for defending himself against a man threatening passengers on the subway. Penny, like the 32-year-old in this incident, found himself in a situation where his safety was jeopardized, and he was forced to take decisive action to protect himself and others.

George Markos

Eatontown, NJ

A man was shot in the head on the A train on Thursday, a little more than a week after Hochul sent National Guard troops into the subway to help stop the surge in violence.

And yet several good men with guns — the National Guard — couldn’t stop a nut with a gun.

Vin Morabito

Scranton, Penn.

I would love for both Adams and Hochul to ride the rails each day to work with no protection — only community activists and mental health advisors by their side.

Sara Gershon

Syosset

“Bullet Train” has q new meaning in New York — as bullets fly, and so do the passengers.

The deterrent for crime is when transit police and the National Guard are seen actually riding the trains.
Alongside this, Adams needs to incentivize more young men and women to join the NYPD.

Peter Cooper

Bronxville

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