Bronx subway shooting – live: One dead and five injured after ‘dispute between teens’ turns deadly
Police said the suspect who opened fire at Mount Eden Avenue station on Monday was still in the loose
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
At least one person was killed and five were injured after an apparent dispute between teenagers on the New York City subway turned deadly on Monday evening. Police said the rush hour shooting at Mount Eden Avenue station in the Bronx was not an “indiscriminate” act of violence but believed to have escalated from an argument between two “groups” of minors.
One 34-year-old man was killed, while five other people ranging from 14 years old to 71 years old were taken to hospital in a stable condition.
Some of the victims are believed to have been part of the dispute, while others were bystanders, police said.
“This is unacceptable, and when detectives make an arrest – and I’m very confident they will – there must be swift, immediate, strong consequences,” said New York Police Department (NYPD) chief of transit Michael Kemper.
Follow live updates on the situation below.
Bronx shooter is now ‘NYPD’s most wanted'
At the end of the press conference, one NYPD official addressed the shooter directly with a special message.
"You are now NYPD's most wanted," he said. "And we have the greatest detectives in the world looking for you.
"We suggest you turn yourself in, 'cause you're not gonna make it."
‘New York’s heart breaks'
The head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has given his condolences to the victims and their families, calling the shooting a heartbreaking act of “senseless violence”.
“New York’s heart breaks when people who are headed home, and kids headed home from school to do their homework, are subjected to random acts of violence like what occurred here today late this afternoon,” said MTA chairman and chief executive Janno Lieber at the press conference earlier today.
“New York’s heart breaks when guns are on the streets, even though the mayor and the governor are doing everything possible to get guns off the streets...
“We have made tremendous progress against transit crime, with an amazing transit bureau. But right now we are in mourning, and determined to fight back against guns on our streets.”
New York is still fighting to preserve its strict gun laws
Monday’s shooting in the Bronx came as New York’s state government continues to fight in court to preserve its historically strict gun laws.
In 2022, the US Supreme Court struck down a century-old New York law that required gun owners to show they had “proper cause” before getting a concealed carry licence.
State officials responded by crafting new legislation that allowed more people to get a licence while banning guns from actually being carried in schools, public playgrounds, theatres, bars, buses, airports, and more.
Now those laws too are being challenged, and certain provisions such as banning guns from places of worship and requiring applicants to list their social media accounts have already been struck down.
'What I heard sounded like a battlefield'
Witnesses have described the station at the centre of the shooting as "like a battlefield" as gunshots rang out and commuters fled for cover.
Yanesa Ortega, a 29-year-old MTA bus driver, told The New York Times that she was walking home near the station when she heard multiple shots and saw people running and screaming down the station steps.
Heriberto Paredes, a 52-year-old mechanic who works nearby, said that he gave first aid to a young woman whose coat was soaked with blood.
"What I heard sounded like a battlefield,” Mr Paredes told the Times. "I could see the despair on people’s faces, wondering how something like this could happen in a city that’s supposedly safe."
How bad is violent crime in New York right now?
Reported crime rates in New York City have fallen overall since 2019, despite spiking after the end of Covid lockdowns.
According to police statistics, the Big Apple's crime rates fell by 0.3 per cent between 2022 and 2024, with murders falling by 12 per cent.
There were also significant drops in shootings, robberies, burglaries, sexual assaults, and grand larcenies.
Compared to its population, New York has a considerably lower murder rate than other cities such as Detroit, Cleveland, St Louis, and Kansas City, Missouri.
Crimes on the subway are relatively rare, but a number of headline-grabbing shootings on the system over the past few years have stoked public concern.
In 2022, Frank James donned a gas mask before igniting smoke bombs and opening fire with a handgun on a crowded Manhattan-bound train, wounding ten people.
And earlier this year, a man was shot and killed on the subway in Brooklyn when he tried to break up a fight between two other passengers who were arguing over loud music.
Witness describes 'total pandemonium'
A witness has described the scene at Mount Eden Avenue station as "total pandemonium".
Luis Rodrigquez, 34, told The New York Post that he was a passenger on the train. He heard children screaming, and quickly ran out of the station as soon as he had disembarked.
"It was total pandemonium," he said. "It makes you scared to ride the train."
One woman, who called emergency services from her apartment close to the station, told the Post that she saw three teenage boys on the tracks after the shooting.
Two of them appeared to be having an argument, she said, while another one ran away. She also said they were carrying book bags.
ICYMI: What we know about the six victims
Here’s what the police have told us so far about the six victims:
- A 34-year-old man, shot and later pronounced dead at St Barnabas hospital
- A 28-year-old man, shot in the right arm, taken to St Barnabas in a stable condition
- A 29-year-old woman, shot in the face and in the neck, taken to St Barnabas in stable condition
- A 15-year-old boy, shot in the thigh and in the ear, taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital in a stable condition
- A 14-year-old girl, shot in the foot, taken to Presbyterian in a stable condition
- A 71-year-old man, shot, taken to Bronx Care Hospital in a stable condition
Kathy Hochul comments on the tragedy
New York governor Kathy Hochul has addressed the situation.
“I’ve been briefed on the shooting at the Mount Eden station in the Bronx & have directed the MTA to provide all necessary support to the NYPD as they complete their investigation,” she said on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.
“We’re deeply grateful to the NYPD and other first responders working to address this situation.”
'Not only must people be actually safe, they must feel safe'
City mayor Eric Adams has vowed to make sure that New Yorkers feel safe travelling on the subway in the wake of Monday’s shooting.
Calling in to 1010 WINS radio on Monday evening, he said that the NYPD had done a lot of work to get guns off the street and reduce violence.
But he said that more was needed to restore public confidence in the system, which is still recovering from the loss of riders and therefore revenue during the pandemic.
“Not only people must be actually safe, but what we have done in lowering crime, they must feel safe,” Mr Adams said. "And something like this can send shockwaves throughout our entire system."
ICYMI: Witnesses describe how station became a ‘battlefield'
Witnesses have described the station at the centre of the shooting as “like a battlefield” as gunshots rang out and commuters fled for cover.
Yanesa Ortega, a 29-year-old MTA bus driver, told The New York Times that she was walking home near the station when she heard multiple shots and saw people running and screaming down the station steps.
Heriberto Paredes, a 52-year-old mechanic who works nearby, said that he gave first aid to a young woman whose coat was soaked with blood.
“What I heard sounded like a battlefield,” Mr Paredes told the Times. “I could see the despair on people’s faces, wondering how something like this could happen in a city that’s supposedly safe.”