72-Year-Old Man Brutally Shoved Into Moving NYC Subway Train

The new year in New York City began with horror on the rails.

A 72-year-old man was violently shoved into a moving train at the 161st Street–Yankee Stadium station early Thursday morning — in what police are calling the first random act of subway violence of 2026.

Authorities say the victim was standing on the Manhattan-bound platform around 3:30 a.m. when a man — identified as 29-year-old Anton Aleshin of Brooklyn — suddenly lunged at him, pushing him into the side of a passing No. 4 train.

“The impact threw the man’s head into the car as it sped by,” an NYPD source told reporters. “It was completely unprovoked.”

Miraculously, the victim survived. He was rushed to Lincoln Hospital, where he remains in stable condition.

Police officers quickly apprehended Aleshin at the scene. He now faces charges of attempted murder, assault, and reckless endangerment. Investigators believe he may have been intoxicated at the time.

“This kind of senseless violence is exactly what New Yorkers are sick of,” said one subway rider who witnessed the aftermath. “You can’t even wait for your train without wondering if someone’s going to snap.”

The Bronx attack comes amid a string of recent subway assaults that have shaken commuters.
Just days earlier, 26-year-old Caleb Polidore allegedly slashed a fellow passenger across the face with a boxcutter after the two brushed shoulders inside Brooklyn’s 53rd Street R station.

“The argument was brief, but the attack was savage,” said one police investigator. “The victim was cut in the face, neck, and chest.”

And last week, a 31-year-old female train conductor was punched in the face and robbed of her keys while making an announcement on a stalled train in downtown Brooklyn. The assailant reportedly struck through the cabin window before fleeing into the tunnel.

The new year’s outbreak of subway violence comes as Governor Kathy Hochul continues to tout her administration’s record on transit safety.

Last month, Hochul announced a $77 million plan to keep more police officers stationed in the subways — claiming overall transit crime in 2025 had dropped to its “lowest level in 16 years.”
But critics say the latest incidents prove otherwise.

“Statistics don’t mean much when you’ve got elderly men being thrown into trains,” said one Bronx commuter. “We need more cops down there — not more speeches.”

Aleshin is currently awaiting arraignment in Bronx Criminal Court. Police say their investigation is ongoing.

Reporting by Aaron Tinney, with additional information from NYPD and eyewitness accounts.