Man is fatally shot on a Brooklyn subway train

A 45-year-old man was fatally shot on a Brooklyn subway on Sunday evening, police said, in a violent episode that worsened an already difficult month for New York's subway system.

The victim, Richard Henderson, was just a few stops from his home in Crown Heights on Sunday, shortly after 8 p.m., when he was shot in the back and shoulder aboard the No. 3 Manhattan-bound train at the Franklin Avenue station.

Police said it was not yet known whether Mr. Henderson had any connection to the shooter. No arrests have been made in the case.

Police responded to a 911 call reporting the shooting on Sunday around 8:15 p.m. Mr Henderson was transported to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

It was the latest difficult episode for New York's subway system, in many ways the backbone of the city, which was struggling in early 2024.

There have already been two train derailments this year, with one train injuring 26 people and causing significant service disruptions for days. And last week, a teenage boy was killed in what authorities said was a “subway surfing” incident, in which thrill seekers ride on cars. It was the second death in two months.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Sunday's killing.

Shootings in metros are rare and represent a fraction of the city's total gun crime. In November, two people were shot on a moving subway train in Brooklyn's Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. They suffered minor injuries.

Overall, shootings in the city, which spiked during the height of the pandemic, have declined. About 1,100 people were shot dead in 2023, about 400 fewer than the year before.