Police are looking for a stranger who attacked a 62-year-old man during an unprovoked assault at the Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue subway station in Hunters Point on Saturday afternoon, July 25, leaving him with a fractured skull.
The victim had just exited a Flushing-bound train just after 4 p.m. when a stranger approached him on the platform and began yelling at him.
The suspect suddenly shoved the older man, causing him to fall backward and strike his head against a pillar, with the impact fracturing his skull and causing a deep laceration to the back of his head.
The suspect allegedly screamed at the victim before shoving him headfirst into a pillar of the platform.
The assailant ran out of the station onto Jackson Avenue and fled on foot in an unknown direction.
EMS responded to the scene and rushed the wounded man to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Police said the suspect screamed at the victim before shoving him headfirst into a pillar of the platform, fracturing his skull and leaving a deep gash on the back of his head.
Authorities released surveillance video images showing the man walking along the platform and passing through the turnstile.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.
The 108th Precinct in Long Island City and Transit District 20 are investigating the case.
Anyone with information is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers.
Tips can be reported at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish at 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), or at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X @NYPDTips.
All calls and messages are strictly confidential.
The attack is part of a pattern of unprovoked violence in city transit.
Crime statistics show the precinct is tracking progress on reducing such incidents.
Through July 26, the 108th Precinct has reported 162 felony assaults so far in 2026, eight fewer than the 170 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 4.7%.
Transit crimes in the precinct are trending even lower this year compared to the same period in 2025.
In the viral moment captured on station cameras, the stranger approached the victim unprovoked on the platform as the man stood on the station floor after exiting his train. The assailant began yelling, then shoved the older rider backward with force.
The victim’s head struck the concrete pillar supporting the station structure with tremendous impact, fracturing his skull in the sudden collision. The force left him with the serious head wound requiring immediate medical intervention.
Police released images showing the suspect walking across the platform and moving through the station’s turnstile area, captured by the station’s surveillance system.
The NYPD is asking the public for any additional information that could lead to the suspect’s identification and arrest.