A wild video captured by a bystander shows two men tumbling down an escalator while brawling with each other at Grand Central Station in New York City.
The altercation occurred at around 11:15 a.m. on Thursday when at some point, a 37-year-old male suspect punched another man in the face amid a verbal dispute, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).
In the footage, commuters riding the escalator are seen trying to avoid the two fighting men, who eventually end up tumbling down the escalator together.
Fox News interviewed the individual who filmed the incident, where he noted that the fight started when “one of the men standing on the left side of the escalator ‘refused to get out of the way’ of the other man.”
He added that while some bystanders ignored the incident, others were acting “hysterical.” One woman could be heard screaming while watching the physical altercation.
According to police, Precieux Fils-Aime, 37, of West Babylon, New York, was charged with assault for his alleged involvement in the incident.
The anonymous videographer also told Fox News that although he has recently seen more cops in the subway system, “they are usually just on their phones, chatting amongst themselves, stationary and not patrolling.”
According to police, transit crimes in New York City have jumped by 41.4 percent since last year, including nine homicides recorded on the city’s subway system this year. The most recent to occur was when a 48-year-old man was shoved into an oncoming subway by a man he had just been fighting with on Monday.
That same day, Democrat Mayor Eric Adams blamed the increase in homicides on gun crime, even though only three of the nine deaths have been attributed to shootings, the New York Post reported.
Overall major crime in the Big Apple is currently up by 31 percent, while felony assaults have also increased by 14.5 percent.
You can follow Ethan Letkeman on Twitter at @EthanLetkeman.
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