Police Say They Know Who Suspect Is In Fatal Bronx Subway Push
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police late Monday said they know exactly whom they're looking for in the death of a man who was shoved man right into the path of a D Train in the Bronx this past weekend, and they are closing in on him.
As CBS2's Weijia Jiang reported, the NYPD blasted images of the suspect across the city following the incident this past Sunday. Police have identified the suspect as a 34-year-old Bronx resident with more than 30 prior arrests on charges of robbery, assault, and drugs.
His most recent arrest came on Sunday, Nov. 9, for allegedly pickpocketing in Midtown Manhattan.
The alleged chronic criminal is accused in the death of Wai Kuen Kwok, 61, on Sunday.
Kwok was with his wife around 8:45 a.m. Sunday when he was shoved from behind onto the subway tracks as the D Train approached the station at 167th Street and Grand Concourse in the Highbridge section of the Bronx.
CBS2's Ilana Gold reported earlier Monday that police were doing everything they could to track down the suspect.
Police Search For Person Of Interest In Fatal Bronx Subway Attack
"Coming here, all I could think about is what happened," said Maria Pabon of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "It's so sad."
In addition to passing out fliers, police were also searching homeless shelters and hospitals and checking in with parolees who live in the neighborhood as they try to zero in on the suspect.
"To know that we may know him and the person that the incident happened to, it's horrible," Carmen Fernandez, of Concourse, told Burrell. "It's very scary."
Detectives said Kwok and his wife had been headed to Chinatown to have breakfast for her birthday. But someone came out of nowhere and shoved him from behind without saying anything.
Police said there was no previous altercation between Kwok and the suspect, and the motive was unknown.
Surveillance video showed Kwok's devastated wife visibly upset as she's escorted to an ambulance at the scene. She was taken to an area hospital and treated for shock. She was continuing to recover Monday, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
Police Search For Person Of Interest In Fatal Bronx Subway Attack
"It's so horrifying," a straphanger said.
Surveillance cameras captured a man shortly afterward. He was seen boarding a Bx35 bus, and police said he then got off minutes later, entered a bodega and eventually left, nonchalantly smoking a cigarette.
"It's crazy how sick some people are to just shove someone onto the track, kill someone and then just go on with their day like nothing happened," said Allen Sneed, who also lives in the neighborhood.
One area resident said he recognized the suspect.
"That guy looks like the crazy dude living in the neighborhood," said Malik Gregory. "I see him around the neighborhood, mumbling to himself."
Relatives of the victim asked not to be identified, but expressed their heartbreak.
"He was a good man, a family man, provided for his family," a family member said.
Kwok's family is desperate for answers.
"If they can find him, that would be great," a relative said.
Meanwhile, self-defense expert and former NYPD Officer Frank Drake said straphanger can take precautions against being shoved onto the tracks.
"If you were to take yourself back further from the platform, a simple shove is not going to take you onto the tracks," Drake said.
Drake said straphangers should stand against the wall and put away electronic devices while waiting for a train, so they are more aware.
He said if someone approaches, a would-be victim can take defensive action.
"If I try and pick you up, counter-grab me; grab a piece of cloth, grab my pants," he said as he demonstrated on CBS2's Jiang.
That way, Drake said, the attacker has more weight to push.
But in Kwok's case, there was no time to react. Police sources said the train operator tried to stop, but two cars plowed over Kwok.
Police said earlier Monday that they were offering a $2,000 reward for any information leading to an arrest.
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