NYPD Says 6 Teens Took Subway Train on Joyride

MTA chief is 'bummed' about security lapses
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jan 30, 2025 5:50 PM CST

New York City police are searching for a group of people they say took a subway train on a joyride. The department released images and video Wednesday of six individuals who they say commandeered an unoccupied "R" train over the weekend, the AP reports. Surveillance video from inside the train shows members of the group, who all wore jackets with their hoods up, as they exited the conductor's compartment and walked through the otherwise empty car.

A video of the group on the joyride was also shared on Instagram, the New York Daily News reports. The clip shows one of them seated at the controls while another appears to be sitting on the outside of the car, legs dangling over the edge. "Cover your faces. Cover your faces," one of them says on the video as the train accelerates through the tunnel. The department said Thursday that the joyride occurred around 10pm Saturday at the 36th Street and 4th Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn. Police and transit officials have not said how long and how far the suspects traveled in the stolen train. They said the suspects damaged glass panels on the train's camera.

Sources tell the New York Post that the teens reached speeds of at least 30mph, with some of the journey taken on active train lines. The group fled on foot, according to police. No injuries were reported. Janno Lieber, chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, denounced the unacceptable lapses that led to the train theft. He said the transit agency should invest in trains with better security technology than just a simple lock and key as it upgrades its fleet. "I'm burned about this," Liber said Wednesday. "Failure of security, failure of the supervision and monitoring process that needs to be able to stop a train that's operating that's not supposed to be operating."

(More New York City subway stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X