MTA worker assaulted at Wall Street station – NBC New York

An MTA worker was attacked inside a Lower Manhattan subway station just as the morning rush hour was set to begin Thursday — the latest in a string of mass transit crimes to make headlines in recent weeks.

The incident occurred at the Wall Street station along the 4/5 lines, according to MTA officials. The station worker, armed with just a flashlight, was trying to get a man sleeping under a bench to move along. Then, surveillance video obtained exclusively by NBC New York shows the visibly angry man move toward the woman with his arms raised.

Suddenly he attacks the worker, police say — punching, kicking and shoving the 58-year-old into the side of the train car. Another camera angle shows the alleged attacker, identified as Abdellahi Mohammed, grabbing the woman.

He was later charged with felony assault.

MTA officials called the attack on one of their workers unacceptable. A leading MTA executive voiced support for the worker.

“Our expectation is you come to work one way and should go home the exact way they came in,” said Demetrius Crichlow, senior vice president of subways. “It’s unacceptable this happens to someone just trying to do her job.”

New Yorkers riding the train that morning seemed to feel the same way, as a number of them jumped in to help the woman. They joined in to take the 25-year-old suspect down to the ground. After they saved her, the crowd of New Yorkers stood watch over the suspect, making him sit on the platform until police arrived.

The MTA worker was visibly injured, with one of her eyes swollen shut.

“She is there to support the customers – and the customers were there to support her,” Crichlow said.

The Wall Street assault came after other recent shocking attacks in transit, including the musician beaten with a bottle while performing at Herald Square. It also follows a shooting at a Bronx subway station that killed one person and wounded five last week. Police have said that major crimes on the subway are up to start 2024 compared to 2023.

The addition of cameras at stations and on platforms has helped district attorneys build cases.

Prosecutors got a judge to order Mohammed held on $25,000 bail. MTA officials said that if he’s convicted, they want to see real jail time to send a message of deterrence to help protect passengers and MTA workers alike.