Accused New Year’s Eve NYC subway shover pleads not guilty to attempted murder

A man accused of shoving a stranger onto the subway tracks on New Year’s Eve pleaded not guilty to attempted murder and other charges in a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday.

Prosecutors said Kamel Hawkins, 23, pushed a 45-year-old man onto the tracks as a train was pulling into the 18th Street subway station around 1:30 p.m. The man survived, but suffered multiple injuries, including broken ribs, a fractured skull and a ruptured spleen, according to the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

“I wish him a swift recovery,” Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg said in a press release. “Every day, we will continue working closely with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who threaten the safety of New Yorkers utilizing our transit system.”

Hawkins was indicted on charges of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree attempted assault and second-degree assault. He was being held in jail without bail while he awaits trial, prosecutors said. His defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The “unprovoked attack,” as prosecutors have called it, capped off a series of violent crimes on the subway in the final days of 2024. Earlier in the month, a man burned a woman to death on the F train while she was sleeping and another man stabbed two people — one fatally — who were allegedly trying to rob him on the 7 train, according to authorities.

While subway crime fell overall last year, some types of crimes — including homicides and felony assaults — increased. At least 10 people were killed in the public transit system last year and 26 people were pushed onto the tracks, according to preliminary NYPD data. The NYPD did not count the fatal 7 train stabbing, which law enforcement later deemed a justified act of self-defense.

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced in her State of the State Address last week that she wants an officer on every train between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Mayor Eric Adams has also committed to deploying 200 additional police officers onto subway cars and platforms.