NYPD Hunts Suspect Who Tried to Rape Woman on Subway Platform

An NYPD photo of the suspect NYPD

The NYPD is looking for the suspect who attempted to sexually assault a woman on a Manhattan subway platform at 11 a.m. on Saturday, highlighting the sharp increase in crime in recent weeks across New York City.

Video footage (WARNING: disturbing) shows a black male on top of a woman who appears to be struggling with him.

The woman was waiting for a Q train in midtown on Saturday at the 63rd St. and Lexington Ave. station, according to NYPD Transit Police Chief Edward Delatorre.

As a crowd gathers, the suspect gets up and walks away, picking up sunglasses he had dropped, the footage shows.

Police told news outlets that the woman suffered minor injuries and refused medical attention.

“This is disturbing and disgraceful. No one should ever have to experience this type of horrific attack in the transit system,” MTA spokeswoman Abbey Collins said. “The MTA is working closely with the NYPD to find the suspect and hold him accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” she said.

NYPD

Crime Wave

The incident comes in the midst of a crime wave that is currently gripping New York City. At the Republican National Convention (RNC) last week, several speakers, including NYPD union boss Pat Lynch, decried the crime wave as a failure of Democrat policies.

“Why is this happening?” Lynch asked. “The answer is simple: The Democrats have walked away from us.”

NYPD data for July showed that murders across the city are up about 50 percent over the previous year. “This is going to be a situation I think that’s going to take some time to turn around and it’s going to take all of us working together,“ NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea told NY1. “I’m confident it’s going to turn around ... but it’s not going to be a short-term fix, we have some work ahead of us.”

Earlier this summer, following violent George Floyd-related demonstrations and looting, Lynch and other police union leaders decried the lack of support from New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and other elected officials in the city.

Last month, de Blasio unveiled an “End Gun Violence Plan” to curb the burgeoning number of shootings and murders.

“The violence has to stop,” de Blasio said. “It is not acceptable and we’re going to beat it back.”