NYPD: Isiah Collazo, 18, stabbed to death on subway in Brooklyn
NEW YORK - An 18-year-old was killed on a train in Brooklyn.
Police say witnesses told them it began with a fight between the victim and his killer.
It was late Thursday not long before midnight. An 18-year-old who was with some friends was killed with a sharp object to his stomach after he argued with another rider.
The victim has been identified as Isiah Collazo, of Staten Island.
The train was near the Barclays Center stop, where Friday riders were aware of the killing and troubled by it.
"There's an argument over some kind of foolishness that's what it is- doesn't make any sense at all," said Canarsie resident Judy Mercury.
"I feel sorry for the family. Crazy. This is crazy," said Allerton resident Rebecca Molina.
"It's especially painful, I think... at a time when so many of our faith groups are celebrating holidays and family time, at least one family lost a kid," said MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber.
The killer ran away.
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Investigators and transit leaders say there is much more to learn about the moments leading up to the killing.
"The relationship among them, and what exactly transpired that have him those fatal wounds is still under investigation," Lieber said.
There are 156 cameras in the Atlantic Avenue-Barclays Center train complex, located throughout the area and also down on the platforms.
"Many of those cameras stream directly to the NYPD," Lieber said.
"By any measure crime is down and the subway is safer certainly from last year," said Richard Davey, president of New York City Transit.
Davey says what is working is the recently enacted "cops, cameras and care" initiative announced in October by Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams.
"Everything from unarmed gate guards to continue rolling out cameras, and continue to work closely with NYPD and MTA police," Davey said.
Transit leaders report an improvement in how riders feel about their safety. Of the MTA riders surveyed, the rate of satisfaction with the overall subway experience for last month was 65%, up from the 52% reported by riders in June.
But a homicide in the subway with no one arrested or weapon recovered can have way of shaking that confidence.
Police have not released any of security video. There are also bystander videos.
Anyone with information about the attack is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.