New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said during a Monday press conference that the city will increase police presence in the subway in response to repeated instances of pushing passengers onto the tracks in the past week, according to a report.
There have been three recorded incidents in the past week of a victim being pushed onto the subway tracks in the past week alone, according to the New York Post. The mayor did not cite the exact number of increase in police presence in the subway, but said it “will be very visible.” (RELATED: Police Release Footage Of Man Pushing Bystander Onto Subway Tracks)
“We’ve got to make sure that New Yorkers have confidence that they can go and use the subway and know that help will be there for them,” de Blasio said during the City Hall briefing.
Mayor Bill de Blasio on rise of subway pushing: “New Yorkers are strong resilient folks. We know that we can overcome anything.” pic.twitter.com/juNVsnsvPo
— The Hill (@thehill) November 23, 2020
The mayor added that in addition to boosting police presence, the city will make efforts to increase access to mental health treatment.
“The first thing we have to do is find people and get them help before something like this happens. And we need medical intervention, which our city agencies will do,” he said. “If we find someone who we think might be a threat to themselves or others, we’re going to get them to a medical facility, get them tested and evaluated.” (RELATED: Mayor Bill De Blasio Says People Should Avoid ‘Big Meals Together’ As New York City Cases Spike)
The latest subway shoving incident came Sunday morning, with the victim avoiding any significant injury and the suspect currently being unidentified, the New York Post reported.
The other two instances came on Wednesday and Thursday, with the victims too avoiding any significant injuries. The suspects in both of these incidents have been identified and charged with attempted murder, the New York Post reported.