Sources: Retired Correction Officer Shoots, Kills Man In Brooklyn Subway Quarrel
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A retired New York City correction officer shot a man who later died Tuesday evening, in a confrontation at the Borough Hall subway station in busy downtown Brooklyn, sources said.
Police were called around 6:45 p.m. for a report of a person shot on the mezzanine level of the station, located on Court Street between Joralemon and Montague streets on the cusp of downtown Brooklyn and Brooklyn Heights.
Police Respond To Shooting In Brooklyn Subway Station
Sources said the retired correction officer got into a quarrel with the man and woman on a No. 4 train from Manhattan. The quarrel spilled onto the platform, and the officer shot the man, sources said.
The woman was not shot, sources said.
As CBS2's Valerie Castro reported, exclusive CBS2 video showed one man pulling out a gun and shooting another inside the station. Other subway riders are heard screaming, and quickly run away.
In the video, the gunman is seeing walking through the station as witnesses yell out to him, "Don't shoot!" But then, he walks up to a man in a black shirt and camouflage pants and shoves him.
They wrestle, and the gun goes off.
Sources To CBS2: Retired Correction Officer Shoots, Kills Man In Brooklyn Subway Quarrel
Arayn Church was inside the station at the time.
"It was just a surprise to hear it -- especially under the train station," he said. "It was very surprising."
Church said he heard the gunshots, but at first was not sure what the sound was.
"I heard, like, a crackling sound, but I didn't assume it was a gunshot at first," he said. "When I seen people dashing up the stairs, then I realized, you know, adrenaline just started pumping."
Another witness, Fatima Manuel, was also confused by the sound at first.
"Like a pow, pow sound. Sounded like a firecracker, but then I said: 'No, that's not a firecracker. That's more like a gunshot,'" Manuel told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman.
The shooting left many passengers shaken.
"Every once in a while, you get one of those weird robberies or whatever the case may be. It's kind of scary," a witness named Dane told 1010 WINS' Gary Baumgarten.
The station was soon shut down, as NYPD officers began their investigation inside. Those who wanted to take the train shortly after the incident found themselves faced with crime scene tape.
"It's the scariest thing to even hear about," said Donny Dushi of Astoria, Queens. "Wherever you are in the city -- regardless if it's Brooklyn, the city, Queens, just knowing the transportation you take every day, it can happen to anybody."
The man who was shot was pronounced dead at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center Tuesday evening, sources said.
The woman was in police custody late Tuesday, sources said. No charges had been issued.
Following the shooting, the No. 4 and 5 trains bypassed the station for some time, officials said.
Police tape was stretched across much of the station as No. 4 and 5 trains resumed service, Silverman reported. There was still blood smeared on the walkway of the platform and rubber gloves strewn around.
