NYC man beaten unconscious with a rock in subway station attack
A 64-year-old New York City man was struck in the head with a rock multiple times until he fell unconscious at a subway station early Saturday, police said.
The attacker, described as a male in his 30s, is at large.
The victim was walking along a Q subway line platform at 12:48 a.m. Saturday when someone approached him and "engaged him in an unknown verbal dispute," New York police said in a statement.
"The individual then entered the track area, retrieved a rock, and pulled himself back onto the platform," the police department said. "The individual proceeded to use the rock to strike the victim’s head multiple times, causing the victim to lose consciousness."
A video tweeted by police shows two people, one shirtless and the other wearing a backpack, engaging in some form of an altercation. The shirtless person is seen swiftly moving toward the person wearing a backpack, appearing to strike him.
The attacker fled. The victim, who was stable but suffered trauma to the head, was taken to a hospital, police said.
Police said they are not aware of a motive and could not confirm whether the attack was unprovoked.
It is the latest attack in an already troubled transit system.
A spate of high-profile subway crimes in New York City this year shocked residents, including the killing of Michelle Go, the beating with a hammer of another woman who was kicked downstairs and the stabbing of at least six people over one weekend.
In April, 10 people were shot and 13 more were injured when a man opened fire on an N train.
Mayor Eric Adams unveiled a subway safety plan this year focused on the homeless population to target the increase in transit crimes.
