Suspect arrested in case of woman pushed into subway train in Times Square
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Police have arrested a suspect in the shoving of a woman into a moving subway train in Times Square Monday morning.
The 42-year-old victim was on the northbound 1/2/3 platform when she was pushed around 8:15 a.m., striking the side of a number 1 train that had just arrived.
Authorities say 29-year-old Anthonia Egegbara, of Queens, is now charged with attempted murder.
She was spotted by officers Tuesday morning around the same area where the crime took place, leaving some to wonder if she was about to strike again.
"This unprovoked attack was senseless and absurd," MTA acting Chief Communications Officer Tim Minton said. "The city needs to provide additional mental health services to assist those who may endanger themselves and others. The NYPD's rapid identification and arrest in this case makes riders safer."
Surveillance video shows a woman wearing a bandana sitting on the bench, and she then times her push just as the train approaches.
WATCH | Surveillance video shows the suspect push the victim:
"It looked malicious," rider Alejandro DeJesus said. "That's scary. That could happen to anybody when you least expect it."
The victim suffered serious injuries to her face and legs after her face hit the side of the train.
She was taken to Mt. Sinai West in stable condition.
Police say Egegbara has at least seven prior arrests, with the last three arrests also in the subway.
On September 19, she allegedly entered the 3rd Avenue/149th Street subway station in the Bronx through an emergency gate and was charged with theft of service.
On July 5, police say she scratched a 40-year-old woman in the left eye and cheek during dispute at the 155th Street station in Harlem. She was charged with assault.
On April 17, she allegedly stole a woman's cell phone in the subway station at 96th Street and Lexington Avenue on the Upper East Side. She was charged with assault and grand larceny.
On both June 30 and February 26 of 2020, she allegedly slammed and damaged a door with a hammer inside 501 East 138th Street in the Bronx. She was twice charged with criminal mischief.
On July 27, 2019, she allegedly punched a 57-year-old woman in the face multiple times, saying, "I don't like you," and kicked her when she fell to the ground in a random attack on Brook Avenue and East 139th Street. She was charged with assault.
On November 27, 2011, police say she punched an 18-year-old woman in the face numerous times and then bit her middle finger inside 72 Wilson Avenue in Bushwick, Brooklyn. She was charged with assault.
Still, Mayor Bill de Blasio insists the subways and Times Square are safe.
"Times Square area obviously has been reinforced intensely," he said. "There's huge amount of police presence, and overwhelmingly, of course, that has succeeded in improving the environment there in every way and making it safer. We also surged a huge number of NYPD officers into the subways."
So far this year, there have been 20 subway pushing incidents, compared with 17 at this time last year.
This incident came just a few short hours before a man apparently shot himself in the leg inside the same subway station on Monday afternoon.
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