Suspect charged with shoving woman into moving New York City subway train
A man was arraigned Wednesday on charges of second-degree attempted murder and assault after allegedly shoving a woman into the path of a moving subway train in New York City over the weekend.
Prosecutors say that Kamal Semrade, 39, shoved 35-year-old Emine Yilmaz into a train as it departed a subway station Sunday on the Upper East Side, and then fled the scene.
Yilmaz suffered severe spinal injuries, family members said. She was on her way to work at the time, they added.
Semrade was arrested Monday at a shelter in Queens, the NYPD reported. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority said that investigators used surveillance images from MTA cameras to identify the suspect. Sources told CBS New York that investigators received a tip that Semrade lived in a shelter near LaGuardia Airport.
At his arraignment Wednesday, a prosecutor with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office said that Semrade had no prior criminal record, and described the attack as "completely unprovoked."
Janno Lieber, CEO of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said Wednesday that he wanted the attacker to receive the "maximum consequence."
"We want to see the book thrown at this guy, whoever he is, whatever his motivation was," Lieber said. "We need our riders to know that those kinds of people are going to face the maximum consequence."
