NYC subway shooting witnesses reveal how passengers tried to escape

‘People were trampling over each other’: NYC subway shooting witnesses reveal how passengers desperately tried to escape after gunman opened fire on them

  • Travelers revealed there was a surge towards the exit of the carriages as people screamed ‘gun’ and ‘bomb’
  • One 17-year-old girl from the area, who was on her way to school, said other riders jumped over her in panic
  • The shooter – wearing a gas mask and orange construction vest – is currently on the run in the Brooklyn area
  • The man, said to be 5ft 5, black and weighing 170lbs, is believed to have chucked a smoke bomb into the car 
  • Did YOU see what happened? Email: [email protected]

Did YOU see what happened?

Terrified witnesses have told how the shooting on a crowded subway train in Brooklyn triggered a horror stampede – with children trampled on as commuters tried to escape the hail of bullets.

Passengers revealed there was a huge surge toward the exit of the subway cars as people screamed ‘gun’ and ‘bomb’ before fleeing for their lives.

Cemile Toseglu, 17, a student at Brooklyn Tech who was on her way to school, said other riders jumped over her in panic while the gunman continued his rampage.

The shooter, wearing a gas mask and orange construction vest, is currently on the run in Brooklyn after blasting at least eight people on the packed train in Sunset Park during rush hour.

The man, described as a 5-foot-5 black man, weighing 170 pounds, is believed to have chucked a smoke bomb into the northbound N train as it moved toward 36th Street.

Eight people were shot – including one in serious condition – but fire department sources said 13 in total were injured with four suffering smoke inhalation and the 13th being a pregnant woman.


Terrified passengers run off the train at the 36th Street station on Tuesday morning after the shooting on the train 

A mass shooting and possible explosion have rocked a subway train in New York at rush hour

Witnesses, including children, parents and commuters going about their usual rush hour routine, told how the terror unfolded this morning.

Cemile Toseglu, 17, a student at Brooklyn Tech, said the bullets going off triggered a horror stampede from the huge numbers packed into the carriages.

She told DailyMail.com: ‘The train carried on to 46th street but then we were told to get on the R train because the N wasn’t moving.

‘The R was very crowded, the most crowded I’ve ever seen it and everyone was cramped. On 25th street the train conductor said there would be delays so we were standing still.

‘That’s when there was like a loud noise and people ran towards me – a large crowd. A woman fell and people just ran over her.

‘Someone then scream gun and I ran out of the train, I was near the exit but people were jumping over me to get themselves out too.

‘No one really knew what was going on. I didn’t see the man because I was closer to the exit in the next carriage. That was definitely the most crowded I’ve seen the R train.’

Speaking from her home, she added: ‘I was most scared about the fact that there were a lot of children on the way to school.’

New Yorkers lie on the platform at 36th Street station after falling out of the southbound R train. They were shot on the train by a gunman who unleashed a smoke bomb and then opened fire before fleeing at around 8.30am 

Horror pictures from the scene showed blood strewn across the carriage during the latest attack to rock the city


Horrifying scene photos and videos show people covered in blood, lying on the stained subway platform after being shot

Her father Cemil, who runs a store opposite the station, said he was glad his daughter was safe but admitted he had not realized the severity of the attack until she arrived at his shop.

He said: ‘My daughter was going to school and was on the same train when it happened. She said there was smoke and she was told to get into the other train.

‘She’s now safe and came to my office before I sent her home. She is okay but is a little surprised. I didn’t think it was that serious but she then told me people were yelling that it was a man with a gun and maybe a bomb.’

Meanwhile a man who was also on the train said he watched as the smoke bomb was let off and revealed he had thought it was a firework.

Yav Montano told CNN: ‘It was crazy. I take the N train every morning to get to where I need to work. From 59th Street to 36th Street, the N-train is express, is where all the dramatics happened.

‘I’m in the third part of the express N train. The smoke grenade went off two minutes before we got to 36th street platform. The train was inching towards. It seemed like it was planned.

‘This smoke bomb, and what I thought was fireworks, but I’m hearing it was gunshots. I have no words for what I could see.

‘I was in the car – I was in the front end of the third car. Everything happened at the back end. People started migrating to the front of the car.

‘I don’t know if people know this, it’s one of those old things where they locked the door to stop people traveling between trains.

‘There were people in the other car who saw what was happening and they tried to open it but couldn’t. There was blood on the floor, a lot of blood trailing,.

‘At the time, I didn’t think it was a shooting. It sounded like fireworks. People trampling over each other, trying to get over each other. Thankfully the train moved to the next stop and everyone filed off the train.’

The chaos unfolded at 8.30am on Tuesday morning near the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn 

Another witness told The New York Post the gunman – who was described as a ‘5ft 5 black man weighing 170lbs’, fired ‘too many rounds to count’.

He said: ‘I thought he was an MTA worker at first because I was like, I didn’t like pay too much attention. You know? You’ve got the orange on.’

Meanwhile a college student, 21, who was also on the train but asked not to be named, said the suspect was sitting in the back of the carriage with his luggage.

She said: ‘I saw the guy in orange. He was sitting there in the back of the car. I didn’t quite pay attention. He was just sitting there and there was luggage with him and he was just holding it next to him.

‘There was a big bang sound and people got scared and there were people laying down and running off and I just followed them.

She added: ‘I was running, and then laying there, I heard people scream that they got hurt and they need help.’

And another man in the same carriage claimed he clothes smelled like gunpowder after the smoke grenades went off.

He said: ‘It happened in my car. My clothes smell like gunpowder, man. People piled on me trying to get away from the guy who was in the back of the car.’

The chaotic scene at the 36th Street subway station in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, on Tuesday morning 

EMTs rush to the subway station on Tuesday morning after eight people were shot and another five were injured 

NYPD ESU teams at the scene on Tuesday after a gunman opened fire on the subway at around 8.30am

Shocking video shows passengers spilling out on to the platform as soon as the doors opened, coughing as smoke billowed out from the subway car.

Some travelers carried wounded victims off the train and lay them on the platform to render aid until help came. Others, fearing for their life, ran away in tears.

The footage showed blood-covered victims strewn across the ground at the subway station as smoke billowed out of the train.

One person was seen lying still on the floor with their hands over their face and their legs raised after the terrifying attack.

Others had lost shoes and had their clothes torn as the New York subway’s speaker system blared out messages to the passengers.

Commuters were screamed at to get on a different train to safety while the wounded were treated by emergency services.

Multiple smoke bombs were found at the 36th Street station, according to the FDNY, but the NYPD says none are active explosives.

The gunman remains at large nearly three hours after the shooting. NYPD units are scouring the city’s empty subway tunnels to find him and an amber alert has been issued.

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