Man dies after being pushed onto subway track in fatal fight
A man has died in Philadelphia after being pushed onto a subway track during what police have described as a 'physical altercation'.
Disturbing footage shared online shows the moment the incident took place at 34th Street Station, in Philadelphia's University City section, at about 4:30pm local time on Thursday (January 4).
In the video, two men could be seen fighting on the platform and moving towards the tracks in the process.
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One of the men hit out with two punches, and an onlooker could be heard screaming as the man on the receiving end fell backwards off the edge of the platform, just as a SEPTA subway train was pulling into the station.
Medics arrived and tended to the victim, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The person who was killed was not immediately identified.
Kpana Massaquoi, an inspector with the Philadelphia Police Department, commented: "[It] looked like appeared to be some type of physical altercation. We don't know exactly what took place prior to that to initiate this, but it's being investigated at this point."
Massaquoi has also stated that a person was taken into custody in relation to the case after being found in the area of 40th and Market Streets.
Train services were shut down between 30th and 40th Street Stations following the incident, with SEPTA providing shuttle buses to passengers between the stations. The service has since resumed.
SEPTA is reviewing surveillance video of the incident, while investigators are looking into the death and treating it as a homicide.
Jennifer McCray, a resident from Upper Darby, told ABC6 violence on the transit system is not out of the ordinary.
"It's not too surprising," she told the publication. "It has increased a lot on the past few years, especially post pandemic. I think there could be more police presence to contain the crowd and violence."
According to NBC Philadelphia, Jacob Davidson, a SEPTA passenger, commented: "It's kind of scary that that kind of thing is happening around here. I thought it was pretty safe but I guess it's pretty out of the ordinary for that to happen."
Police are still investigating to find out what caused the fight to break out, and if there was any relationship between the two men involved. Anyone with further information about the incident is being asked to call the authorities.
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Emily Brown