A man with prior arrests was arrested again on Monday, January 27, for allegedly throwing a female straphanger into an incoming Manhattan train. 26-year-old Markeese Brazelis shoved a woman, 23, into a moving A train in a random and unprovoked attack. Brazelis already has sex abuse and trespassing cases against him, New York Post reported.
The young woman struck the train and fell back onto the platform. She sustained bruises to her face, hands, knees and shoulder, and is expected to survive. She was rushed to St. Luke’s Hospital after the attack
Michael Kemper, the MTA’s chief security officer, expressed anger at the fact that the suspect was let loose even after two recent run-ins with cops. “It’s beyond comprehension how this menace can be arrested two different times … only to be turned loose to cause more mayhem,” Kemper reportedly said in a statement.
He added, “When will the courthouses get the message? This can’t continue.”
Police nabbed Brazelis at the 181st Street station after bystanders took photos of him and showed them to cops. He was charged with assault and first-degree reckless endangerment in the attack, the NYPD confirmed.
Brazelis has at least two previous busts. He was busted on January 19 for entering the prohibited area of a Bergen Street subway station. He was released without bail on January 22 after being charged with trespassing in Kings County Criminal Court, according to court records.
Brazelis was also charged with third-degree sexual abuse in Manhattan on December 21, 2024, after being accused of groping a woman on a C train at West 50th Street and Eighth Avenue. In this case too, he was released without bail.
Other recent attacks
This incident is the latest in a series of deadly subway attacks. On Sunday morning, January 26, a 25-year-old straphanger was stabbed several times on a Bronx subway train. The suspect is still absconding.
On Friday, January 24, a woman, 66, was slammed in the head with a golf club at a Financial District station. She was left with a gash. Her attacker is still on the loose.
Earlier in January, 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins allegedly shoved a Big Apple straphanger onto Manhattan subway tracks, following which he was charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault. The victim miraculously survived.
In another recent shocking attack, 57-year-old Debrina Kawam of New Jersey was set on fire on a Brooklyn F train while she was sleeping. Her killer, an illegal Guatemalan immigrant named Sebastian Zapeta-Calil, was indicted on first- and second-degree murder and one count of arson on December 27 last year.
