The NYPD arrested a 25-year-old man in connection with a deadly assault inside the Jay Street subway station in downtown Brooklyn.
Investigators say David Mazariegos attacked Nicola Tanzi around 3 p.m. Tuesday. Mazariegos has a lengthy arrest record prior to this attack, according to police. He was arrested at least a dozen times with charges that range from criminal mischief to assault.
Officers responded to a 911 call on Tuesday and found the 64-year-old Tanzi unconscious and unresponsive with injuries to his body. Police say he had been punched and kicked.
Tanzi was taken to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Images released by the NYPD earlier Tuesday showed Mazariegos boarding a Bronx-bound 2 train shortly after the assault.
Police say that he is charged with two counts of murder, robbery and grand larceny.
Commuters told News 12 the violence has them questioning safety underground.
“There’s really no boundary anymore where one would say, oh, that’s an unsafe area and this is a safe area,” said commuter Zee Sachdeba. “I don’t think that exists anymore.”
According to NYPD CompStat data, transit crime in the 84th Precinct—where the station is located—is up about 23% this year, with 47 reported incidents compared to 38 at this time last year.