Woman shot on Subway

[Cotuit]

So much for my one man campaign to make people realize that the New York subway system is safe.

Model Shot in Subway by Unknown Assailant Who Flees

By THOMAS J. LUECK and WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM - June 2, 2004

In a violent outburst yesterday in a moving subway car, an actress and model was shot in the shoulder as her train approached the Times Square station, the police said. Then, as her assailant fled into the station's teeming midday crowds, the young woman staggered to a token booth for help, blood gushing from her wound.

The victim, Monica Meadows, 22, was listed in stable condition at Bellevue Hospital Center yesterday afternoon. James N. Saunders, a Bellevue spokesman, said a single bullet had passed cleanly through her left shoulder, apparently without striking bone.

The police said that the motive for the shooting, at 2:05 p.m., was unknown, and that Ms. Meadows had told detectives she did not know the gunman. Investigators described him as white, about 30 years old, of medium build and about 5-foot-8 with shoulder-length, wavy blond hair. He eluded the police, transit workers and witnesses, and remained at large last night.

"I heard a pop, I looked, and that's when I saw people running," said one witness, who was in the same car on a northbound W train when the shooting took place. Ms. Meadows was seated in the middle of the uncrowded car, the witness said.

"She started saying: 'I think I've been shot, I don't know. Somebody help me. Somebody help,' " said the witness, a 25-year-old fashion student from Canada who would not give her name.

Investigators said that many details of the shooting remained unknown last night, including whether Ms. Meadows had been the intended target or only a bystander. The how or why of the shooting may not be determined until the man with the pistol is apprehended, one police official said.

Ms. Meadows was described yesterday by colleagues as an energetic, popular and talented young woman who arrived in New York City less than a year ago from Colorado to pursue a career in the theater. She divides her time among roles on stage and television, modeling, and performances as a singer, they said.

Among her recent appearances have been a small part in "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" on television and a stage role in a short-lived production, "Fashion," at the White Plains Performing Arts Center.

"Monica is a willowy beauty and an absolute sweetheart," said William Michals, a veteran Broadway actor who appeared with Ms. Meadows in White Plains last month. He recalled that she had brought a homemade peach cobbler to the final rehearsal for the cast and crew.

"With her talent and likability, she could go far," he said.

Paul J. Browne, the deputy police commissioner for public information, said Ms. Meadows had entered the W train at West 28th Street and Broadway after visiting a modeling agency.

"There was no precipitating argument between her and the shooter," Mr. Browne said. "She was sipping a cup of soda and the next thing witnesses knew, someone fired a shot."

One investigator said that none of the witnesses the police interviewed by last night had seen the gunman shoot Ms. Meadows, but that they had heard the shot and saw a man running toward the end of the car, then realized that Ms. Meadows was bleeding.

Mr. Browne said investigators believed that the bullet, which was recovered, was fired from a small-caliber pistol, and that they were waiting for the laboratory report.

One detective said the gunman did not speak to Ms. Meadows, but simply shot her just as the train pulled into the station, then ran into the next car and out of the train.

"He stands up, pops her, runs into the next car," the detective said. "The train pulls into the station, he runs out."

He said Ms. Meadows then made her way upstairs in the subway station, leaving a trail of blood. She went to a token booth, where she left a large blood smear, apparently from leaning against the booth.

Mr. Browne said the gunman had most likely been seated and got up just before he fired. After the shot struck Ms. Meadows and the train pulled into the station, Mr. Browne said, the gunman fled either from the platform to the street or possibly into the subway tunnel.

Despite speculation last night that the gunman had argued with another man before his pistol discharged, "everything we're hearing," another police official said, indicated that "there was no arguing; everyone was surprised."

"We're not exactly sure where he was when he fired, because people weren't really paying attention to him," Mr. Browne said.

Colleagues said that Ms. Meadows, a native of Atlanta, had attended the University of Northern Colorado at Greeley and graduated with a major in theater last year. While in Colorado, she took on modeling jobs and was represented by a Denver agency, Donna Baldwin Talent.

"She went to New York to pursue acting," said Brad Baldwin, the agency's vice president, adding that he had last spoken to Ms. Meadows about six months ago, after she made her move.

"She is a beautiful and talented kid," he said. "She was always very popular, and, really, there was nothing odd about her at all. I never knew of her having problems."

The police said witnesses described the gunman as having a "scruffy" or "grunge" look about him. He was wearing gray pants and a tan jacket, and carrying a gray bag. The police asked anyone with information about the shooting to call the Crime Stoppers hot line at 1-800-577-TIPS (1-800-577-8477).

From The New York Times

[Cotuit]

I give up!

Business School CEO Shot While Entering MTA Station

by Paul Menchaca, Western Queens Editor

May 27, 2004

The CEO of Drake Business School in Astoria was shot while entering the mezzanine area of an MTA subway station during commuter rush hour on Monday evening.

[Neo]

Doesn't seem like a good week for the MTA...

[NYguy]

So much for my one man campaign to make people realize that the New York subway system is safe.

Why would you give up?

You do realize that crime DOES still happen in NY. Every now and then you get some deranged lunatic shoving people off the subway platforms. But the chances of seeing something happen at all in the subway are extremely remote. New York is the safest of America's cities (statistics back it up) and overall crime in the subways has been down for years. But things like this do and will continue to happen.

[Cotuit]

Oh I know. Some people are convinced no matter what you tell them, that they will be robbed or killed in the New York subway. Stupid tourists are more likely to be pick-pocketed while gawking at the Toys R Us in Times Square than having anything happen on the subway.

[NYguy]

Stupid tourists are more likely to be pick-pocketed while gawking at the Toys R Us in Times Square than having anything happen on the subway.

Don't even get me started on the tourist blocking the sidewalks in Times Square and the rest of the city. And why do they always have to walk 5 and 6 accross?...

[NYguy]

Anyway, the model says she had no known enemies....(Newsday)

Model: I have no enemies

Associated Press

June 4, 2004

A 23-year-old model and television actress who was shot on a subway train at Times Square said Friday that the bullet "came out of nowhere" and she didn't realize at first that she had been shot.

Monica Meadows, who appeared healthy and in good spirits three days after the shooting, said on NBC's "Today Show" that she was on the train heading from her agency to a casting, when she "heard a pop" and "felt heat."

"I stood up and saw blood everywhere and realized that something had happened to me," said Meadows, adding she didn't know she had been shot until she heard a woman who came to her aid tell a subway station booth clerk what had happened.

"I thought something had hit me off the train or something like that," she said.

Meadows pulled her red shirt down slightly to reveal a white bandage where the bullet entered her chest, apparently the only visible sign of her ordeal. She was discharged from the hospital on Thursday.

She said she had no idea who could have shot her and didn't see her assailant. None of the witnesses located so far saw anyone fire the gun; police have questioned several people but have made no arrests.

"I really have no enemies," Meadows said. "It's kind of nice, but it kind of makes it confusing. ... It's probably a random act."

Police initially sought to question a "scruffy" subway rider with wavy blond hair, but a man who turned himself in after realizing he fit the description was ruled out by investigators as a possible suspect.

When asked about insinuations that she had orchestrated the shooting as a publicity stunt, Meadows said "I can't believe anyone would even suggest that."

"I've already been working," she said. "New York has been fabulous for me." She said she has "always felt extremely safe here."

Meadows, from McDonough, Ga., is a magazine model who appeared on the NBC crime drama "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" this year.

[wolfdawg54]

That is a scary thought but New York is large city and no matter what crime will happen especially in large cities.

[NYguy]

I give up!

Business School CEO Shot While Entering MTA Station

by Paul Menchaca, Western Queens Editor

May 27, 2004

Here's the follow up to the other story...(NY Post)

DRAKE BOSS GOT SHOT AFTER SPOTTING BIZ-SCHOOL FRAUD

By CARL CAMPANILE

June 6, 2004

The head of the bankrupt Drake Business School uncovered millions of dollars of massive financial mismanagement before he was shot in a Queens subway

[NYguy]

(Daily News)

Subway remains a safe way

By PETE DONOHUE

Despite two recent high-profile subway shootings - and a slight uptick in gunfire underground - the tubes remain at their safest in decades.

So far this year, the around-the-clock system is averaging about three robberies a day and fewer than one assault a day, according to police statistics from Jan. 1 through May 30.

By far the most prevalent crime underground is grand larceny, which includes stealth crimes like pickpocketing.

Overall, felonies in the system that carries 4.7 million passengers on an average weekday are up slightly - about 2% - but last year's tally was the lowest in more than three decades.

"Since 1990 subway crime is down 81%, and we continue to focus our efforts toward prevention," Police Department Inspector Michael Coan said. "Any crime is too many."

There has been one killing and one rape this year in the subways, according to police.

But there have also been some high-profile shootings. On May 24, a business-school executive was shot in the Steinway St. station in Astoria, Queens.

And after the shooting of model and actress Monica Meadows on a Times Square train Tuesday, riders said they are trying to be more alert.

"I was surprised it happened during the day," said Arun Wiita, 23, a medical student, referring to the Meadows incident. "I feel the A [train] is pretty safe."

All told, four people have been shot underground in the first five months of 2004, compared to two during the same period last year.

Counting the attack on Meadows, there have been five shooting victims this year. That's already more than in the 12 months of 2003, when gunfire erupted just three times.

Even with the slight increase, the totals seem minuscule compared to 1990 - a year the subway saw 107 shooting incidents, police said.

[Cotuit]

Boston has seen some high profile crime in and around the subways over the las couple years as well, but overall the city, like New York remains extremely safe.

Interesting follow up on the Queens shooting.

I used to avoid Times Square like the plague when I lived in the city. I used to work near Grand Central, and if I had to get to the West Side, I found it was easier to hop the shuttle and use the tunnels to Port Authority than it was to actually try to walk across Times Square. Of course there were always the friends and family who wanted to visit the city during the holidays and wanted to go to Times Square and Rockefeller Center... Ugh!

[NYguy]

More subway mayhem....(Daily News)

Subway slay - Man shot on No. 1 train at 23rd St.

BY JONATHAN LEMIRE and TONY SCLAFANI

Hectic scene in Chelsea, after man was shot dead on uptown 1 train at 23rd St. stop last night.

A man was shot to death on a subway train in Manhattan last night, turning a peaceful ride into a panicked stampede for dozens of straphangers, cops and witnesses said.

The nightmare unfolded in the last car of an uptown 1 train at the 23rd St. station in Chelsea just before 9 p.m.

A gunman clad in a blue Los Angeles Lakers jersey left the train through a middle door, scooted down the platform and then fired two shots through the open rear door, cops and witnesses said.

The victim, a 29-year-old Brooklyn man still on the train, was hit in the face and left arm, his blood spattering fellow passengers and the floor, witnesses said.

Horrified riders ducked for cover and ran for other cars as the suspect darted up the stairwell and south on Seventh Ave., eluding authorities in the ensuing manhunt. Cops said he may have had an accomplice, who also escaped.

"It was like a loud roar," said one witness who declined to give her name. "A couple of people ran towards me and I saw two guys run out the train."

"Blood was everywhere. He looked like he was dead," the witness said. "I've never been so scared."

Actress Maureen Griffin, who was riding home on the train, said, "People came running through the cars back toward us. People were freaking out and screaming."

The victim was taken to St. Vincent's Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m., police said.

His name was not immediately released. Cops said he was carrying identification belonging to a man who had been arrested for homicide, guns and drugs.

The victim, the shooter and the possible second suspect all boarded at the 18th St. station, with the victim squeezing his arm through the closing doors, witnesses said.

The motive for the shooting was unclear, but cops believe the suspects may have been embroiled in a previous argument with the victim and caught up with him by chance. Cops were investigating whether the violence was gang-related.

No words were said before the shots rang out.

Police were looking for two black men in their 20s. The gunman was described as 6 feet tall, wearing blue jeans, the basketball jersey and a blue handkerchief tied to his waistband. The other was bald, wearing a white T-shirt with bold, blue lettering and carrying a knapsack, police said.

[Cotuit]

These are obviously all unrelated, and it's mere happenstance that these shooting shave all happened in a short amount of time. But I'm sure it's unnerving nonetheless.

Unfortunately it highlights how vulnerable our nation's transit systems are.

[NYguy]

These are obviously all unrelated, and it's mere happenstance that these shooting shave all happened in a short amount of time. But I'm sure it's unnerving nonetheless.

Unfortunately it highlights how vulnerable our nation's transit systems are.

True. It was revealed that the guy shot on the subway was related to a retaliation from a shooting years ago, but it just happened to take place on the subway. It could as easily have happend on the street. Anyway, there are more things to worry about on the subways than just crime...

(Daily News)

Woman crushed

She falls on tracks, can't climb back up

Rescue workers swarm Brooklyn Bridge subway station at rush hour yesterday, trying to extract body of Brooklyn woman who was hit by train.

Joan Olaizola

A Woman desperately trying to claw her way to safety after falling onto subway tracks was killed by a Manhattan train yesterday as rush-hour commuters watched in helpless horror.

"She's gonna get crushed!" a woman on the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station platform screamed just moments before the victim was fatally struck and dragged by a southbound No. 4 train.

The tragedy unfolded so quickly that straphangers had no chance to help Joan Olaizola, 39, of Brooklyn, who fell onto the tracks after apparently fainting or losing her balance.

Olaizola stood up to find the train barreling down on her.

"She was trying to grab onto the platform and get up when it happened," David Dunn, 38, of Brooklyn, said. "She had one arm over the yellow strip when the train hit her."

No one heard Olaizola cry for help, although witnesses said the look on her face in the seconds between life and death told the story.

"I think she knew she was going to die," said a teenager on the platform. "Her eyes were real wide."

Olaizola's partner of 17 years, Daisy Custodio, 39, blinked back tears at their Brownsville home last night as she looked through photos of her companion.

"I can't believe this happened. It's a terrible, terrible loss. She was my partner, my friend and my lover," Custodio said. "I don't know how I can go on without my best friend in the whole world."

She said Olaizola, a funny and outspoken woman who loved fashion, was the biological mother of a 6-year-old girl, Diana, they were raising together.

"When she was 18, she lost a baby [to stillbirth], and the doctors said she could never give birth again," Custodio said. "So when her daughter was born six years ago, it brought such joy to both of us. We were blessed to be able to raise this child."

Custodio said her partner had epilepsy and had just begun taking new anti-depressants, which may have contributed to the fall. Law enforcement sources said she was also on methadone.

Olaizola was heading home after seeing her therapist when the accident occurred, Custodio said.

The train pulled her 10 feet with her head and one arm wedged between the platform and the second car, police said.

Commuters tried to comfort the victim. One rider, tears in her eyes, fanned Olaizola with a newspaper until she breathed her last.

"She was alive when [the train] stopped," Dunn said. "But in a few seconds she was gone."

The accident unleashed a cascade of grief in the packed station.

One woman was so horrified by the ghastly scene that she fainted and had to be taken away in an ambulance.

Other riders joined Lessie Herring, a Buildings Department worker and licensed chaplain, on a staircase, where they prayed for the victim.

The traumatic scene unfolded shortly before 5 p.m., when the woman was standing 25 feet from the mouth of the tunnel, where the tracks curve into the northern end of the station.

She was seen staggering briefly before falling. Almost immediately, she was back on her feet and grabbing at the platform. The motorman hit the brakes and the train squealed to a halt, but not in time.

Authorities said there was only a 5-inch gap between the train and the platform at the point of impact. That space quickly narrows to only the width of a thick piece of cardboard.

Firefighters had to inflate air bags between the train and platform to free the victim's lifeless body.

"It's a very traumatic death," said one firefighter. "When a train catches you like that, it pretty much destroys all your organs and you bleed out."

Brooklyn-bound train service was knocked out for nearly an hour while the woman's body was removed.

The motorman, looking shaken and dazed hours after the accident, declined comment.

"He is very traumatized by what happened and he's going to the hospital now for treatment," said Kenny Onunkwo, vice chairman of Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union. "This is a tragic accident, and he is very upset."

[Cotuit]

What a nightmare.

There was an episode of Homicide: Life in the Streets about a man who was wedged between a train and the platform. The whole episode was about consoling him, and the fac that there was no way to get hi out without killing him. It was a brutal episode, freeks me out just thinking about it.

[wolfdawg54]

Wow that is gut-wrenching story. It makes you appreciate all that you have because life can be taken away just like that.

[it's just dave]

This is such a cheery note to start the countdown of my upcoming long weekend in the city. The odds for a great weekend are with us. New York is one of my favorite places and a frequent travel destination. I promise our group of five won't take up the whole sidewalk.... I've instructed my partner, who sometimes is a bit outspoken, that if he expresses opinions aloud while even remotely within earshot of another human being besides me, I'm going perform a very, very southern repair ritual to his face. I'm going to duct tape his mouth shut. We'll be fine, I'll be there as a constant nag to remind him that direct eye contact with anyone isn't for the trains either, and a hearty "hello!" isn't a good idea. We've been there together before and had no problems.

I'm not worried really. As soon as the car delivers us to the hotel, we'll get our MetroCards and be own our way. I lived in New York in 1980 and the comparison between now and then is not to be taken lightly. The city looks great. New Yorkers are indeed saddled with a reputation of being cold and callous. Not true in my opinion. Very accomodating. But the bad seeds? We'll be cautious...on our way to terrific weekend.

[NYguy]

Just a little update on the model that got shot. It was revealed that the "gunman" had a gun in a bag that accidently went off. That's why he fled, but he turned himself in, and police had fabric from the bag...

[Cotuit]

Man Dies After Falling to Subway Rails

Published: July 13, 2004

A 41-year-old man was electrocuted last night in Manhattan when he came in contact with the high-voltage third rail in the Spring Street Station on the C line, the police said.

Witnesses told law enforcement officials that the man, whose identity was not immediately released, appeared to have been intoxicated when he fell from the platform onto the uptown track about 8:30 p.m.

The man then touched the third rail, witnesses told the police. He was pronounced dead by the authorities when they arrived soon after, the police said.

Uptown service on the C train was suspended for about an hour, the police said, and about 80 people had to disembark from a train that was waiting to enter the station, the police said.

From The New York TImes

[NYguy]

Stay off the tracks people, lol....

(Newsday)

Man falls under subway, lives

July 16, 2004

A man who fell onto the tracks after experiencing a seizure suffered only minor cuts and bruises after four cars of a subway train passed above him in Queens Friday.

Brian Jemmotte, 38, pitched forward onto the elevated tracks as a No. 7 train pulled into the 69th Street station in Woodside at 7:35 a.m. Friday, police said.

The train conductor later told police he initially thought Jemmotte's motionless body was a pile of clothes. As the train entered the station, people on the platform screamed at the conductor to stop and motioned that there was a person on the tracks.

The conductor applied the brakes but the train's momentum prevented it from coming to a stop before four cars had passed over him, police said.

Firefighters responded and found Jemmotte conscious. They removed him from beneath the subway, police said.

Jemmotte, who has a history of seizures, was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center, where he was treated and released.

His sister, Donna Jemmotte, 49, said she's heard many stories of people being killed by trains under similar circumstances. "We're just flabbergasted," she said.

And learn your directions....

(Newsday)

Transit worker stabbed

July 16, 2004, 4:52 PM EDT

A transit worker was stabbed on a subway platform inside Penn Station Friday morning by a man who became disgruntled after the worker couldn't provide him with directions.

Jiwan Singh, 53, a power distribution worker for the subway system, was stabbed in the chest on the platform of the southbound No. 2 train at 6 a.m. Friday. Police said a man in his 30s, wearing gray shorts and a yellow shirt asked Singh for directions and when Singh couldn't provide them, the man stabbed him with a small knife.

Singh was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was treated then released, police said. The attacker was still at large late Friday.

[Cotuit]

after four cars of a subway train passed above him in Queens Friday.

Of course anyones first thought upon finding themselves in the tracks would be to get the hell out. But it would seem the best thing to do when having a train barrelling down on you would be to get between the tracks and lie flat. There should be enough clearance for all but the most obesce people. Between the tracks themselves and the wheels of the train, there must be at least a couple feet clearance.

[Wendell FOX]

And all this (starting with the subway slay) happened within a month? I trust that the system isn't that dangerous usually, but this serious of events is quite unexpected.