- A 61-year-old man was charged for pushing an Asian woman in front of a train in New York City.
- The incident occurred Saturday morning at the Times Square- 42nd Street station, officials said.
- The suspect, Simon Martial, was charged with murder, according to reports.
A 61-year-old man who is accused of pushing an Asian woman in front of an NYC subway train on Saturday morning was arrested and charged, authorities said.
The man, Simon Martial, was charged with second-degree murder, CNN reported. During a press conference on Saturday afternoon, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said that the woman — later identified as 40-year-old Michelle Alyssa Go per CNN — was standing at the Times Square- 42nd Street station when she was "suddenly pushed" off the platform onto the train track at approximately 9:30 a.m.
"Upon arrival at the scene, officers discovered a female under the train with severe trauma to her body," Sewell said. "EMS responded and pronounced the victims deceased at scene."
Sewell added: "This incident was unprovoked and the victim does not appear to have any interaction" with the suspect.
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The suspect fled the scene and later turned himself in, according to officials, and an investigation is underway. At the press conference, Assistant Chief Jason Wilcox said that the suspect approached another woman before allegedly pushing Go.
"He approaches her, he gets in her space, [and] she gets very alarmed," Wilcox said. "She tries to move away from him and he gets close to her, and she feels that he was about to physically push her onto the train," adding that she saw the suspect push Go moments later.
Martial, who officials believe was homeless and has a criminal background, has "three emotionally disturbed encounters with us that we have documented," according to Wilcox.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams called the incident "a senseless act of violence."
"We want to continue to highlight how imperative it is that people receive the right mental health services, particularly on our subway system," Adams added. "To lose a New Yorker in this fashion would only continue to elevate the fears of individuals not using our subway system."
The assault comes amid multiple incidents on the city's subway stations, according to theNew York Times, and a surge in crimes against Asians, although authorities said there's no evidence of that is the reason why she was targeted.