New York to deploy soldiers in the subway after a series of violent incidents

Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez Associated Press In mid-February, a shooting took place at a station in the Bronx, one person died and five others were injured. Police officers are seen here in front of the said station on February 12.

Andréa Bambino – Agence France-Presse in New York

March 7, 2024

• United States

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 in 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, would 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 megacity's subway, an initiative decided shortly after he took office in early 2022 by the city's mayor, Democrat and former police officer Eric Adams.

New York, a megacity of 8.5 million inhabitants marked by strong socio-economic inequalities, had experienced a sharp increase in crime during the Covid pandemic and delinquency figures had fallen since.

But since the start of the year, several violent incidents have taken place in the metro.

On February 12, shots fired at a station in the Bronx and attributed to rivalry between gangs left one person dead, a 34-year-old man, and five injured. At the end of February, a subway conductor was also stabbed in a Brooklyn station.

In recent days, a man was also pushed onto the tracks and other attacks occurred.

“Anxiety”

The number of serious crimes in the transportation system jumped almost 50% in January compared to the same month in 2023.

“These heinous and brazen attacks on our subway system will not be tolerated,” declared the governor, while security will be one of the issues of the next US presidential election in November.

The deployment of National Guard soldiers will be aimed in particular at helping the New York police to reinforce checks on passenger bags in the most busy stations.

“People fear they will be next (victims), anxiety sets in,” added Kathy Hochul.

Passengers “should not fear that a person sitting next to them is carrying a knife […]. This is what we are going to do with these checkpoints,” she also assured.

Kathy Hochul promised the deployment of additional video surveillance cameras and announced plans to more easily prohibit access to the metro for people convicted of assaulting a transport system employee.

Before the series of incidents that 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, killing several dozens of injured.

The perpetrator of the shooting was sentenced to life in prison in October 2023 for terrorist acts.