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Off-Duty MTA Employee Struck By Stray Bullet Aboard Subway In Brownsville, Brooklyn

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- An off-duty Metropolitan Transportation Authority employee was struck by a stray bullet while riding in a subway in Brooklyn Tuesday evening.

The 47-year-old hydraulic supervisor is the latest victim in a recent spate of violence in the city's transit system.

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Police say it all started with a dispute between two groups of men aboard a southbound 3 train just before 6:30 p.m. The scuffle continued onto the platform at the Sutter Avenue-Rutland Road station in Brownsville, where one of the men brandished a firearm and discharged at least one round.

The bullet traveled into the subway, where police say it struck the victim who was heading home from work. He was rushed to Kings County Hospital where he's currently stable.

Tuesday's shooting was the first in the city's transit system since 2015, according to police. Earlier in the day, authorities arrested a man they say threatened a straphanger with a knife while he was riding a subway with a small child in Manhattan last month. Just over a week ago, police say a panhandler fractured a commuter's skull after beating him with a metal object.

Investigators describe the shooter as a black male between 16 and 18-years-old last seen wearing a blue shirt and dark sweats. It wasn't immediately known how many people were involved in the initial scuffle, or if the melee was gang-related.

Three people were being questioned at the nearby police precinct but no arrests have been made as the investigation continues.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74682). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website at WWW.NYPDCRIMESTOPPERS.COM or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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