Watch CBS News

Man Seen Slapping Woman In F Train Brawl That Shocks Commuters

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Imagine sitting on a subway train minding your own business, when an argument suddenly turns into a violent brawl.

As CBS2's Jessica Schneider reported Monday night, that exact scenario played out on an F Train this past weekend. And it left anyone not involved running for cover.

The all-out brawl broke out as an F Train rolled into the West 4th Street station in Greenwich Village. Four people ended up being arrested, and the video that documented the brawl now has more than a million people talking online.

The firsts began flying around 5 a.m. Saturday.

The video starts out with a quarrel in progress, a woman tells a man that he is wearing "a wack eight-ball jacket that came out in 1990," and goes on to say: "I'm done. I'm just done. Get your money up."

WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE

Man smacks the soul out of girl on the NY Subway by MrDratliff23 on YouTube

The woman later goes on to strike the man with her shoe and bag, and the man strikes back. A subway brawl then breaks out.

When the train arrived at West 4th Street, the woman – identified by police as Danay Howard, 21, and the man, identified as Jorge Pena, 25 – were arrested along with another man and woman.

"Her behavior was inappropriate, aggressive and certainly provocative – absolutely, absolutely," said Patricia Napier-Fitzpatrick of the Etiquette School of New York. "But that still doesn't warrant him hitting her."

Napier-Fitzpatrick said a man is never justified in hitting a woman. But some on the street said she might have asked for it, since she was taunting the man at least for a minute.

Several people who spoke to CBS2 would not say so on camera, but argued that the man had every right to fight back.

"I don't hit men, because if I hit a man, I'm like, 'All right, I hit you, you can hit me," said one woman, Sam Bowers of Midtown.

CBS2 went to Howard's apartment, but she did not answer the door. Her neighbors said she was upset and embarrassed by the entire situation that now has her facing felony charges.

"Just the sound alone – it wasn't' even like he went to push her away from him. That would've been, like, one thing," said Josh Neighoff of Midtown. "But that was loud. He put force behind that. That was unnecessary to say the least."

Three people were charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct in the case, but Howard was charged with a felony.

Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.