LOWER EAST SIDE (WABC) -- Two women were pushed onto the tracks at a Lower East Side subway station by another woman, who was quickly apprehended by police.
The victims, ages 27 and 28 and from Mexico, were shoved off the northbound F line platform at the Delancey Street/Essex Street station just after 2:15 a.m. Monday.
Officers were already assigned to the station and rushed to the women's aid. A bystander helped the women back onto the platform.
They also helped detain a female suspect who apparently had no shoes and appeared to be in emotional distress.
The suspect, later identified as 42-year-old Ebony Butts, is charged with two counts of reckless endangerment and two counts of assault.
Police say the 28-year-old woman was pushed onto the tracks, and when the 27-year-old tried to help out her friend, she was also pushed by the woman.
The women are recovering at Bellevue Hospital and being treated for minor injuries.
The MTA does have a pilot program in effect to install barriers at certain stations to protect riders from increasing random attacks. It is not fully scaled at this point, but the latest incident certainly brings to mind a need for extra safety measures.
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