NYC has been reeling from some high-profile crimes. Are the city and subway safe?
A shocking incident on the New York subway Sunday morning in which a woman was set on fire, killing her, is the latest high-profile crime in the nation's largest city. But despite the headline-grabbing incidents, authorities say crime is actually down in New York and on its transit systems.
On Monday, investigators were trying to determine why someone set the woman on fire on a Brooklyn subway train at about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, which New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch called "one of the most depraved crimes one person could possibly commit against another human being."
An earlier fatal incident on Sunday occurred at a subway station in Queens, WABC reported. A 37-year-old man was stabbed in the torso and a 26-year-old man was slashed throughout his body at around 12:35 a.m.; the 37-year-old was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Another 26-year-old man was taken into custody.
The city is still reeling from the Dec. 4 fatal shooting of UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson, who was gunned down outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan as he walked to a conference. Luigi Mangione, the alleged gunman, pleaded not guilty to state murder and terrorism charges on Monday morning.
And earlier this month, a jury acquitted Daniel Penny of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Jordan Neely, a homeless former Michael Jackson impersonator, on the city's subway. Neely had been shouting angrily at passengers on a train when Penny grabbed him from behind and restrained him in a chokehold for several minutes.
NYPD says crime rates are down in city and on the subway
In a Dec. 3 news release, the New York Police Department (NYPD) reported that crime rates are down in the city: Major crimes were down 1.9% since 2023 and there was a decrease in the overall crime index of 5.7% in November.
In addition, the NYPD said, subway crime was down 15.8% in November and down 6.3% since last year.
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Officials point to increased patrols on trains
The decreasing crime rates, the NYPD said, were "driven by decreases in murders, robberies, burglaries, grand larcenies and stolen vehicles."
NYPD officials attributed the drops in crime to strategic deployments, increased patrols and an ongoing focus on illegal weapons, gang activity and quality-of-life offenses, including a crackdown on subway fare evaders.
Earlier this year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul deployed hundreds of National Guard troops and New York State Troopers to help patrol the city's subways after a conductor was slashed on a Brooklyn train.