Open in full screen mode Police officers secure the scene of a shooting in a metro station in New York, February 12. Agence France-Presse New York will deploy soldiers and new police reinforcements to secure its subway, used every day by millions of workers and tourists, after a series of violent incidents which left their mark on the American megalopolis. The Democratic Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, notably announced that 750 members of the National Guard, the equivalent of the military, were going to be deployed in New York's gigantic transportation network, which has more than 400 stations. They will be added to the numbers of the New York Police (NYPD), already clearly visible on the platforms and in the corridors of the metropolis of the megacity, an initiative decided shortly after taking office in early 2022 by the mayor of the city, the Democrat and former police officer Eric Adams. New York, city of 8.5 million&# x27;residents marked by strong socioeconomic inequalities, had experienced a sharp increase in crime during the COVID pandemic, but delinquency figures had fallen since. Since the start of the year, however, several violent incidents have taken place in the metro. Loading in progress ELSEWHERE ON INFO: Eric Girard opts for Longueuil rather than Quebec for his budget watch exitLoading in progress ELSEWHERE ON NEWS: Eric Girard opts for Longueuil rather than Quebec for his budget watch outing On February 12, shots fired in a station in the Bronx attributed to a rivalry between gangs had left one dead, a 34-year-old man, and five injured. At the end of February, a subway conductor was stabbed in a Brooklyn station. In recent days, a man was pushed onto the tracks and other attacks occurred.
Eric Girard opts for Longueuil rather than Quebec for his budget watch exit
Eric Girard opts for Longueuil rather than Quebec for his budget watch outing
As in other big cities, New York's homeless find refuge in the subway.
The number of serious crimes in the transportation system jumped nearly 50% in January compared to the same month in 2023.
These heinous and brazen attacks on our subway system are not acceptable, declared the governor, while security will be one of the themes of the next American presidential election in November.
The deployment of National Guard soldiers will notably aim to help the New York police strengthen controls passenger bags in the most used stations.
People fear being next, anxiety increases. installs, added Kathy Hochul.
Passengers should not fear that someone sitting next to them is carrying a knife […] that is what we are going to do with these checkpoints, he said. -she also insured.
The New York subway is very busy, sometimes even outside rush hours.
Kathy Hochul promised the deployment of additional video surveillance cameras and announced plans to ban more easily access to the metro for people convicted of attacking a transport system employee.
Before the series of incidents that have occurred in recent weeks, the most serious episode dates back to April 2022, when a man opened fire on a train in Brooklyn, during rush hour, causing several dozen injured.
The perpetrator of these shootings was sentenced to life in prison in October 2023 for terrorist acts.