Philadelphia Commuter, 60, Gets Broken Jaw Following Subway Argument With Teen [Video]
A passenger standing on a train platform was allegedly knocked out cold by a teen after arguing with him while the train was en route to the station in Philadelphia.
The incident Monday afternoon got its start on the Market-Frankford Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) Line as the train headed to Center City Philadelphia.
“This was not a case of a random rider being attacked by a mob,” SEPTA Police Chief Tom Nestel declared.
The 60-year-old man accidentally stepped on another teen’s shoe as he was entering the subway car, and that’s what prompted the verbal confrontation, which was caught on surveillance video. Several females tried to calm things down, to no avail as it turned out.
Later in the footage (see below), shot by a separate surveillance camera, the victim appears surrounded by a group of teens on the platform who all exited the car before being slugged allegedly by the individual with whom he was arguing while the train was in motion.
“A security camera at the far end of the platform captured the teen in the blue hoodie rearing back and delivering a violent punch to the right side of the man’s head. The man in the leather jacket lies motionless on the ground as the teens scurry away in the footage,” the New York Daily News reported.
Rushed to the hospital by first responders, the victim suffered a broken jaw and concussion-like symptoms in the altercation. SEPTA police, who have said the victim is unwilling to cooperate in the investigation, are searching for the suspect and released the video as a way to help identify him or others who were there.
Cops particularly want witnesses, including those who took cellphone video of what went down in and outside of the car, to come forward.
“The puncher has some serious questions to answer,” Nestel explained. “The other kids have no jeopardy of being arrested. They saw something that occurred and they can probably provide very good information and they can certainly provide very good video and audio of what occurred on the train.”
A week ago Monday, a 15-year-old male was attacked by a large group of high school students at a SEPTA station, an incident that the chief may have been alluding to above.
In another recent violent incident on public transportation, a man riding on a St. Louis mass transit light rail train received a barrage of punches after allegedly being asked by another passenger what he thought about the Michael Brown shooting in nearby Ferguson. Police have arrested two suspects, ages 21 and 15, in the assault.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoHkJKLD9HM
[Photo by Jeff Fusco, Getty Images News]
