Asian woman killed after being pushed onto subway tracks in NYC

Photo: image courtesy of the victim

Michelle Go, a 40-year-old Asian American woman, was waiting for the train on the N/Q/R/W platform in Times Square when a man pushed her onto the tracks as the train was approaching. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The attacker, Simon Martial, then took the subway to Lower Manhattan and told officers at the Canal Street station that he had pushed a woman onto the tracks. Martial, who is without home and reportedly suffers from mental health problems, has had several previous arrests, and minutes before pushing Go, he attempted to push someone else onto the tracks.

When reporters asked Martial if he killed Michelle Go, he replied, “Yeah because I’m God. Yes I did. I’m God, I can do it,” adding “she stole my f—ing jacket, that’s why.”

Authorities do not believe this attack was race related. NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said, “This incident was unprovoked and the victim does not appear to have any interaction with the subject.”

New Yorkers, try not to commute alone via public transit when possible, and please don’t stand on the edge of the subway platform. These attacks, and attempted attacks, are happening far too often on the subway.

Reporting: The New York Times (Troy Closson, Andy Newman); New York Post (Steven Vago, Jesse O’Neill)