A family made the difficult decision to take a woman off life support Wednesday following a fatal attack by a suspect—who police have identified— during a July 17 robbery attempt in a New York City subway.
Authorities identified the suspect as 52-year-old David Robinson, who physically attacked 22-year-old Kyaw Zaw Hein and his 58-year-old mother, Than Wtwe Than, as they climbed the Chinatown subway stairs in an attempt to steal Hein’s backpack, ABC 7 reported. The mother and son fell down the stairs and Robinson escaped the incident. (RELATED: Police Search For Man Who Allegedly Sent A Woman Tumbling Down Subway Stairs During Attempted Robbery)
With his mother lying unconscious in a pool of blood, Hein pleaded for help at the bottom of the stairs, the outlet reported. Than was rushed to the hospital where she remained in coma due to her fatal brain injury.
Police are still searching for Robinson’s whereabouts and have offered a $3,500 reward for any information that leads to his arrest, according to the outlet.
Than Wtwe Than died after police say David Robinson, 52, attempted to rob her and her son at the Canal Street subway station. https://t.co/eLp5gjFDNK
— Fox5NY (@fox5ny) July 29, 2021
Subway Safety Advocate Carlton D’Souza has fought for better policing as crime rates surge in subway areas, claiming that the subways lack security.
“You know the criminals are getting more and more bolder and what’s sad about this death is we were all told there was gonna be a huge deployment in the subway,” D’Souza said. “Well guess what? Here it is, we are today, there’s no police officers down there.”
The MTA issued a statement offering their condolences to Than’s family and agreed that the subways need more policing and security cameras.
“Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones of Than Wtwe Than. No one should have to suffer such a senseless and depraved attack,” the statement said. “We agree there should be additional policing and additional security cameras in the subway system—which is why we have been so aggressive in efforts on both fronts. New York City Transit has accelerated installation of cameras in the subways at a historic pace, with cameras expected in every station by the end of the summer.”
New York City crime rates have risen in 2021 versus the previous year. In June 2021, robbery increased by 16% in comparison to 2020., according to New York Police Department data. Additionally, felony assault rose 0.8%, with a recorded 2,055 cases versus 2039 the previous year.