A New York man reportedly attacked several people on Saturday, leaving one unconscious and another with a broken arm, before hijacking two vehicles.
The man holding the bat has been identified as Bryan Thompson, 43.
According to the New York Post, Thompson began his alleged violent madness around 7 p.m. Saturday at the Varick and Canal subway station.
A man was entering the station when Thompson allegedly knocked him out after repeatedly hitting the victim with a bat. The victim was injured in the shoulder, hand and forehead, the newspaper reported.
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New York man Bryan Thompson, 43, reportedly attacked several people on Saturday, leaving at least one unconscious and another with a broken arm before hijacking two vehicles. The alleged violent madness around 7 p.m. in the Varick and Canal metro station
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Authorities said Thompson then hit a woman on the head as she entered the station.
As he walked out of the station, Thompson reportedly hit an MTA worker with the bat at least three times.
From there, the rampage continued with the suspect hitting a driver with his gun as he allegedly stole the victim’s SUV on 7th Avenue.
According to the Post, Thompson crashed the SUV twice, once in the back of one car and on the left side of another vehicle. These drivers were not seriously injured.
Thompson allegedly fled the scene on foot and smashed the rear windows of two other cars, injuring a woman who had part of the glass in her eye.
While walking on West Broadway, Thompson reportedly broke one victim’s forearm and another suffered bruises and a swollen leg.
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The incident comes as violent crime continues to plague New York City. In the 28 days leading up to December 27, there were 21 murders, a 61.5% increase over the same dates in 2019
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According to the Post, the man hijacked a Jeep after threatening the driver.
It wasn’t until around 9 p.m. that the police arrested him on the West Side Highway.
He was taken to a local hospital after being assigned by officers. No charges were confirmed on Sunday afternoon.
None of the victims have been identified.
The incident comes as violent crime continues to plague New York City.
Billed as America’s safest large city in recent years, New York ended its bloodiest year in nearly a decade, struggling with an outbreak of homicides and a pandemic that authorities say has contributed to fuel violence.
According to statistics released Friday, New York has seen a 97% increase in shootings and a 45% increase in murders.
This is the biggest increase since 2011. The number of people shot dead has more than doubled the total for 2019, reaching a high of 14 years.
The NYPD reported 462 murders in the city for 2020. That’s a difference of 143 from 2019.
Shootings have also increased with 1,531 incidents involving guns in New York City. That’s 754 more than in 2019, officials said.
Among the victims: a one-year-old boy sitting in his stroller at a summer barbecue; a 53-year-old teacher walks his dog; and a 43-year-old mother looking out the window of her child’s bedroom on the third floor. All three were killed by stray bullets.
The outbreak of violence began just as the pandemic began to disrupt lives and shut down businesses, and reached a crescendo over the summer, with the city recording an average of 57 murders per month in July, August and September.
By comparison, each of these months recorded an average of 33 homicides in 2019.
The police department has faced a wave of retirements that Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said “could not go higher”, fewer recruits due to budget cuts and an upheaval in the midst of year in the way it roots gun violence.
The NYPD in June disbanded its plainclothes anti-crime units, which focused primarily on seizing illegal weapons, amid criticism of their aggressive tactics and involvement in a disproportionate number of shootings and complaints against the police. .
The change came in the midst of what Shea described as “an endless supply of weapons.”
In July, after a “Defund the Police” protest became a full-fledged occupation outside City Hall, the city shifted $ 1 billion from the police budget by shifting the functions of school safety in the city’s school system, reducing overtime and eliminating nearly 1,200 class recruiting people.
Police officials blamed bail reforms that went into effect in early 2020 for sending offenders back to the streets, but there is little evidence that those released from prison are behind them. new crimes.
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