Straphanger in critical condition after being pushed into path of moving NYC subway train by hoodie-wearing maniac

On By Littum

A Big Apple straphanger is in critical condition after he was pushed onto Manhattan subway tracks and hit by an oncoming 1 train — with the horrific attack captured on disturbing footage.

In what police are calling a random attack, an unidentified 45-year-old man was at the 18th Street station shortly after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday when the hooded thug pushed him onto the tracks.

Police responded to a 911 call and the victim was rushed to a local hospital, where he is in critical but stable condition, the NYPD said.

A straphanger is in critical condition after being pushed onto the subway tracks. Obtained by NY Post
Surveillance footage of the moment the victim was pushed onto the tracks at the 18th Street station. Obtained by NY Post
According to the police, the pushing was a random attack. Obtained by NY Post

Chilling video footage obtained by The Post shows the cowardly brute roaming the edge of the platform as the victim appears to be looking at his phone as the train pulls into the station.

Without warning, the suspect pushes the man onto the tracks as the unsuspecting straphanger disappears under the train.

Two others are seen jumping onto the roundabout seconds before the attack – then rushing out of the station and away from camera as they witness the New Year’s Eve nightmare scenario.

The attack took place around 1:30 p.m Paul Martinka

Two others are seen jumping on the counter seconds before the attack – then rushing out of the station and away from camera after witnessing the nightmare scenario on New Year’s Eve.

It does not appear the victim knew his attacker, police said.

Dramatic video footage from the scene shows firefighters working to pull the injured man from between subway cars as onlookers stare at the scene on the station platform.

The suspect, 23, fled the station and was busted on the ground near Columbus Circle shortly after the incident, police said. He was in custody on Tuesday evening, but had not been charged.

The suspect was described as wearing a dark hooded sweatshirt and gray jeans.

The incident is the latest in a series of transit attacks in the Big Apple, including two derailments on Sunday and the horrific Dec. 22 death of a sleeping straphanger on an F train in Brooklyn.

Straphangers like Kips Bay resident Tom, who stood outside the 18th Street Station as police investigated the push, are now more wary of riding the subway.

“My rule of thumb is always to avoid traveling late at night. But to hear that this happened during the day is scary,” he said. “I’m surprised, but I hear things like this happen more often.”

The victim was pushed into the path of a moving train. Paul Martinka

NYPD statistics show that in the 28 days leading up to Sunday, there were 48 crimes on the city’s transit system, a 40% bump over the same period in 2023.

The surge in violence prompted the Guardian Angels to begin patrolling the subways for the first time since 2020.

The group, founded by former mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa in 1979, began patrolling Sunday and said three-member Angel teams will patrol troublesome subway lines around the clock.

Mayor Eric Adams called the announcement “theatrical” and dismissed what he called “senseless stunts.”

A City Hall representative said Adams “fired” 1,000 officers a day to police the subways, reducing overall crime.

Concerns about violence in the subway have also led Gov. Kathy Hochul to deploy more than 1,000 National Guardsmen to the transit system.

Additional reporting by Zoe Hussain