Brooklyn subway shooting leaves 1 in critical, 1 in custody; Police searching for woman involved

NEW YORK -- A man was shot multiple times on the platform of a Brooklyn subway station on Thursday afternoon. 

It happened just before 5 p.m. on the northbound platform of the A/C line at the Hoyt-Schermerhorn station. The victim was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. 

Police say another man was taken into custody, and charges are pending. A gun was also recovered.

"Intense and harrowing"

"Today, what we're thinking about are a couple things -- the experience of those riders who were stuck on that train in that moment, which was intense and harrowing," MTA CEO Janno Lieber said Friday morning. "And two, the fact that there were cops in numbers right there in the station. It's exactly what we've been telling the public we're going to do, we're going to make sure that there are cops in the system to react to any circumstance at any time."

Investigators are now searching for a woman who was traveling with the man in custody. They say the woman had a sharp object, or knife, and stabbed the 36-year-old man during the confrontation.

Watch the NYPD briefing on the investigation

Shooting victim had the gun

At a news conference Thursday, police said the man who was shot was the one who initially had the gun.

Police said a 32-year-old man got on the train at Nostrand Avenue, when he was approached by a 36-year-old man acting aggressively. The two men began arguing and then fighting.

Police said the 36-year-old first pulled out a knife, and then a gun. That's when the other man grabbed the gun and shot the 36-year-old multiple times.

He was taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Witness accounts of Brooklyn subway shooting

"Everybody was just running. People were falling down and trying to get out of the station," rider Nadgel Maldonado said.

Witnesses said they were crying and huddled together, adding police came on the train with guns drawn, telling everyone to stay down.

"It's not a right thing to experience this at all, because I don't know if I am paralyzed. I still can't stand up. I have those two people right here helping me, basically," one woman said. "Yes, that's how it is. It's not safe for us."

Watch Lori Bordonaro's report

Added NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper, "It's very important that it be known that there were multiple police officers in this station, just feet away from when this train pulled in, that actually heard the shots and were on scene within seconds."

Police cordoned off the station, disrupting service during the evening rush.

Lieber condemned what was the latest in a string of gun violence underground.

"The real victims are the people in the video having a harrowing time with someone on the train with a gun. They just want to get on with their lives, so get rid of the guns!" he said.

Violence in the New York City transit system

So far this year, there have been eight shooting victims in the transit system. In the same period last year, there was just one. There have also been 17 gun arrests in the transit system during the same period, versus eight last year.

The shooting comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul has deployed National Guard troops into the system to help beef up security due to concern over subway crime.

It's not clear if the man who fire the gun will be charged or if it will be determined that he was acting in self-defense.