Sabir Jones in custody for allegedly pushing woman into subway train in Manhattan
NEW YORK - The man who police say pushed a woman in front of a subway train Wednesday in Manhattan is in custody.
Sabir Jones, 39, was taken into custody near the PATH train stop at Newark Penn Station, police said. Detectives said they had previous encounters with Jones, and in Newark on Thursday, he was recognized by a citizen who called 911.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old victim is in critical condition with major head injuries.
Police said she was on her way to work when she was shoved into the train around noon at the Fifth Avenue and 53rd Street station in Midtown.
MTA officials said the train was pulling out of the station when she was pushed, causing her head to hit the train as it departed. She then fell onto the tracks.
Watch: NYPD briefing after woman shoved into subway
"When ambitious young people who are just trying to live their lives are subject to random attacks, we can't put up with it," said MTA Chair Janno Lieber.
The following morning, commuters told CBS New York's Zinnia Maldonado incidents like this remind them to keep their heads on a swivel while underground.
"Definitely invokes anxiety, so it's not something that makes you comfortable," commuter Yoonsuk Han said. "Just one of those things where you just have to be extra cautious."
"It's scary. Every time I hear something like that happens, it just makes me think about it twice," commuter Carress Brown added.
Watch Dave Carlin's report
Subway camera footage and accounts from witnesses on the platform helped police identify the suspect, and detectives say they had prior encounters with him.
"It can happen to anyone. What's the government doing for this?" Jersey City resident Piyusha Patwardhan said. "I mean, it's unsafe. Who can you trust?"
"You hear about this kind of thing all the time, honestly," Staten Island resident Jason Blumenberg said. "I feel like the bigger issue is mental health in the city."
Police say minutes before the woman was pushed Wednesday, it appeared the same suspect screamed at a 26-year-old man, then punched that second victim and broke his jaw.
"When things like this happen, we have to double down," Lieber said.
Wednesday, Lieber said the city must do more to get people with mental health issues into treatment.
The NYPD says overall crime in the subway is down, including the amount of people who have been pushed onto the tracks -- 15 so far this year, compared to 22 the same time last year.
The MTA has two subway safety pilot programs underway -- gates to get in that are more difficult to jump over and new platform barriers.