Posted on January 5, 2024

Philadelphia Man Is Pushed Onto Subway Tracks During Brawl, Moments Before Train Pulls Into Station and Kills Him

Martha Williams, Daily Mail, January 5, 2024

A Philadelphia man was pushed onto the subway tracks and fatally struck by an oncoming train just days after the city’s new mayor vowed to crack down on crime.

The man was brawling with another male on the SEPTA platform around 4:30 pm on Thursday when tragedy struck at the 34th street station.

Bystander video footage caught the tragic moment unfold as one of the men punched the other, sending him stumbling onto the tracks.

Just moments later, a SEPTA train on the Market-Frankford Line arrived at the platform and killed the man.

A SEPTA spokesperson confirmed that the man throwing punches in the video has been taken into custody – but it remains unclear whether he will be facing charges.

The person killed is yet to be identified, but a user on X claims that both of the two men involved are ‘known to SEPTA police’.

Retired Sgt. Mark Fusetti said on X: ‘These two men are known to Septa police.

‘They are homeless and live in the subways. They’re called, by Septa, destination-less riders.’

‘They take the EL & Subway all day and night. They use the trains as toilets and beds. This is another crime that could’ve been prevented if Septa didn’t allow them to live in their trains.’

This tragic incident came as Philadelphia’s new mayor Cherelle Parker was sworn in – becoming the city’s first female leader.

Cherelle Parker, a 51-year-old Democrat and long-serving councilwoman, campaigned on a centrist platform of safety, jobs, and city services.

She promised on the campaign trail to hire 300 more police officers, including community officers, and restore ‘constitutional’ stop-and-frisk. She also put forth the idea of making school year-round, to reduce juvenile delinquency.

Her plans will include increasing the number of police officers on the streets with a focus on community policing – a policy she championed when on the city council.

‘Officers there as guardians and not warriors, getting to know the people they are sworn to protect and serve,’ she said on Tuesday night, during her inaugural address.

Parker takes over a city where violent crime is declining – homicides are down by more than 20 percent year on year, and non-fatal shootings are down 28 percent.

But Philadelphia in 2020 and 2021 had the grim reputation as one of America’s most dangerous cities, with over 500 murders each year – significantly more than New York, which is five times as large.

And theft on Philadelphia is rocketing, with reported vehicle theft up 72 percent. Retail theft is also soaring, and has risen 28 percent in the last year.

Parker said that her Public Safety Emergency will ‘expeditiously get every available resource into neighborhoods struggling with the scourges of crime, gun violence, drugs, and addiction.’

She said her new police commissioner, Kevin Bethel, has been tasked with creating plans for those crises and for quality-of-life crimes including car theft, shoplifting and illegal ATV use.

Original Article