An Asian woman was killed Saturday morning after a deranged homeless man allegedly pushed her in front of an oncoming train in Times Square.
According to the police, the victim, Michelle Alyssa Go 40 was waiting on the southbound platform when she was shoved onto train tracks and struck by an R-train. Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said in a late afternoon press briefing in the station, “This incident was unprovoked and the victim does not appear to have any interaction with the subject.”
Assistant Chief Jason Wilcox of the NYPD Detective Bureau said that the suspect had first approached another woman, who was not Asian, but the woman was alarmed and immediately moved away. “She feels that he was about to physically push her onto the train. As she’s walking away, she witnesses the crime where he pushes our other victim in front of the train.”
After what happened the man walked into a transit precinct on Canal Street and declared that he “pushed a woman in front of the train. The 61-year old man identified by police as Simon Martial was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. He has no known address, according to law enforcement sources.
Martial, who was wearing a black hooded jacket and had a gray beard stuck his tongue out at photographers as he walked into the Midtown South Precinct on West 35th Street. “He is crazy, talking gibberish,” said an officer. “Go f—k yourself” Martial yelled at reporters as police escorted him out of the precinct.
Martial was asked if he had killed Go and claimed that he was God. “Yeah because I’m God. Yes, I did. I’m God, I can do it,” Martial shouted, and continued “she stole my f—ing jacket, that’s why.”
The Manhattan District Attorney, Attorney Alvin Bragg, who was taking heat for being too soft on crime has refused comment at the press briefing. He confirmed that New Yorkers do not have to be worried about the suspect being released immediately from jail.
The NYPD said that they are reviewing this incident but it is not being investigated as a hate crime. Martial has a history of three criminal activities that date back to 1998. His latest arrest came just last October 2019 for criminal possession of a controlled substance. He was released from prison in August 2021 after serving two years for attempted robbery.
His sister, Josette said that he has a history of mental illness. “He’s been on medication for over 20 years and in and out of mental hospitals in New York,” she said. Her brother, who is originally from Haiti and once managed a parking lot in New York City making good money.
The president of the Chinese American Citizens Alliance of Greater New York, Wai Wah Chin, called this incident ‘horrifying.’ “It’s a horrible attack on yet another one of our citizens. This has to stop,” she said. “We have to make the streets and subways safe for all of our citizens, especially our Asian women.”
There have been two reported cases of shoving in Times Square within the last few months.
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