New York City police have arrested Anthonia Egegbara, 29, on an attempted murder charge after a surveillance video allegedly showed Egegbara pushing another woman into an oncoming train at a subway stop in Times Square.
The attack occurred on Monday, October 4. The disturbing video shows alleged assailant Egegbara stood up from a bench behind the victim, 42-year-old New Jersey resident Lenny Javier. Egegbara allegedly forcefully pushed Javier into an approaching train, causing several injuries to the victim.
“My face is swollen, I have a broken nose, a fractured chin,” Javier told CBS New York.
“I never thought it would happen to me,” Javier added according to the outlet. “Someone needs to take responsibility for this because it can’t be happening.”
Javier’s father informed Telemundo that Lenny’s left arm is broken in three different places in addition to her facial injuries. Her arm will require surgery, according to CBS 4. The outlet reports she is expected to fully recover from her injuries.
Transit authorities arrested Egegbara of Far Rockaway on October 5 in the same subway station where the attack occurred. She has been charged with attempted murder and a Manhattan judge has set the defendant’s bail at $100,000, the New York Daily News reports.
In a video interview with CBS New York, Eegabara’s mother, Dedria Gregg, expressed her deep remorse for her daughter’s actions.
“We all cried when we saw that video,” Gregg explained. “The whole family is distressed and upset about this. I feel so sorry for the woman that got pushed in the subway. I am so sorry.”
Egegbara’s family detailed that the defendant has severe mental illness in the form of Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder, CBS New York reports. The outlet reports that Egegbara has been hospitalized on upwards of 50 occasions since her teenage years.
“It is so hard to have someone in your family that suffers from mental illness. Everybody is going through it right now. The whole family is distraught,” Gregg told CBS New York.
Egegbara has been arrested at least seven times and has a history of committing violent offenses against women using public transportation, according to CBS New York. Since 2011, Egegbara has logged three arrests revolving around incidents in the transit system where she bit or kicked a woman victim.
Egegbara is due in court on October 8, the New York Daily News reports.
Passengers United President Charlton D’souz has requested National Guardsman and State Troopers to help combat the chaos taking place in New York’s transit system.
“I’m calling on Gov. Kathy Hochul to give us 100 to 200 state troopers and to bring down about 100 National Guardsmen,” he said according to the outlet.
New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio is in favor of more transit officers but stated, “I would caution against other forces coming in, because the environment here is very different than what state police or National Guard are trained for,” CBS 4 reports.