New York deploys the National Guard in the subway

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Police officers secure the scene of a shooting in a New York subway station on February 12.

Agence France-Presse

New York will deploy soldiers and new police reinforcements to secure its subway, used every day by millions of workers and tourists, after a series of violent incidents which left their mark on the American megalopolis.

The Democratic Governor of New York State, Kathy Hochul, notably announced that 750 members of the National Guard, the equivalent of military personnel, were going to be deployed in New York's gigantic transportation network, which has more than 400 stations.

They will be added to the numbers of the New York Police (NYPD), already clearly visible on the platforms and in the corridors of the megacity's subway, an initiative decided shortly after taking office in early 2022 by the mayor of the city. city, Democrat and former police officer Eric Adams.

New York, a city of 8.5 million inhabitants marked by strong socio-economic inequalities, had experienced a sharp increase in crime during the COVID pandemic, but delinquency figures had fallen since.

< p class="StyledBodyHtmlParagraph-sc-48221190-4 hnvfyV">Since the start of the year, however, several violent incidents have taken place in the metro.

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On February 12, shots fired at a Bronx station attributed to gang rivalry left a 34-year-old man dead and five injured. At the end of February, a subway driver was stabbed in a Brooklyn station.

In recent days, a man was pushed onto the tracks and other attacks occurred.

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As in other big cities, New York's homeless find shelter in the subway.

The number of serious crimes in the transportation system jumped almost 50% in January compared to the same month in 2023.

These heinous and brazen attacks on our subway system are not acceptable, said the governor, while security will be one of the themes of the next US presidential election in November.

The deployment of National Guard soldiers will be aimed in particular at helping the New York police to reinforce checks on passenger bags in the busiest stations.

People fear being next, anxiety sets in, added Kathy Hochul.

Passengers should not fear that a person sitting next to them is carrying a knife […] that's what we are going to do with these checkpoints, she also assured.Open in mode full screen

The New York subway is very busy, sometimes even outside of rush hour.

Kathy Hochul promised the deployment of additional video surveillance cameras and announced plans to more easily prohibit people from accessing the metro convicted of assaulting a transportation system employee.

Before the series of incidents that occurred in recent weeks, the most serious dates back to April 2022, when a man opened fire in a train in Brooklyn, during rush hour, leaving several dozen injured.

The perpetrator of these shootings was sentenced to life in prison in October 2023 for terrorist acts.