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Hammer attack on Philadelphia subway
Organichu
poopspeesRegistered User regular
poopspeesRegistered User regular
As the SEPTA subway train rocked forward, a thirty-something guy leaned over near the doorway and gently planted a kiss on the little boy at his side.
When the train neared the Fairmount Avenue stop shortly after midnight on Thursday, the man reached out like an adoring parent and directed the 3- or 4-year-old tyke to an open seat.
Then he flew into a monstrous rage.
Without uttering a word, police said, the unidentified man whipped out a double-claw hammer and began bludgeoning a 20-year-old man who was dozing off in his seat.
For five long minutes, SEPTA surveillance cameras captured the deranged attacker - who was still on the loose late last night- digging his hammer into the man's head and neck.
Through it all, disgusted investigators said, at least 10 passengers stood by and did nothing as the random attack moved from the train to the platform, when the hammer-wielding maniac tried to push his victim down onto the train tracks.
When the beating was finished and the suspect fled with the little boy, the victim staggered back onto the train, bloodied, confused and alone, said Detective Kenneth Roach, of Central Detectives.
And even then, no one tried to help him.
"Somebody should have helped this guy," Roach said. "I understand the [other] guy had a hammer, but they outnumbered him at least 10 to one."
Miraculously, the victim took the subway up to Temple University Hospital, received several staples and sutures and was discharged, Roach said.
The motive remains a mystery.
"I'm baffled," Roach said. "He had no reason to do that. It was unprovoked. The victim was just going home from work, minding his own business, listening to his iPod."
Roach said that the victim, whose name was not released, boarded the subway at City Hall.
The attacker - a bearded, stocky, 5-foot-9-inch black man who wore a yellow shirt and black pants - also got on at City Hall, with a youngster who may or may not be his child.
The victim and the hammer-toting psychopath never exchanged a word or a glance, Roach said.
"According to the victim, there was no contact or verbal discussion," he said. "They didn't even notice each other."
The hammer was hidden in a black-and-yellow book bag that the attacker clutched throughout the short subway ride.
The little boy dashed off the train with the other passengers during the brutal beat-down, but was later seen running back on to recover the book bag. The boy and the suspect are seen on camera leaving together.
Roach described the attacker as "very dangerous" and asked anyone who knows him to contact police at 215-686-3093 or -3094.
So, as a Philadelphian this is pretty scary stuff. I ride the Orange Line (the one mentioned here) pretty often, and many times I've entered/exited at the same stops as the attacker.
I don't want to have a regurgitation of the Greyhound stabbing topic... so try to keep it civil.
SEPTA has been terribly complacent in their security logistics despite several assaults and robberies in the trains/on the platforms recently. It's to the point where as an athletic young man, I don't feel comfortable asking friends to meet me places... especially females. I always travel to them because I'm concerned that the Philadelphia residents who ride these trains wouldn't do anything to help my smaller or female friends in the event of something crazy. It's really frightening.
I'm not sure how much discussion is to be offered here, but maybe this'll vitalize it a little bit: this particular line (the Broad Street line) services several high schools, public and private. These teenagers in some ways exacerbate the problem, but even so, how can the city watch as a line populated by kids, basically, falls to crap?
This is making me angry.
Organichu on
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oh god I'm so sorry
Hah, someone on another forum beat you to that one. ;-)
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Well, there's nothing we can do. He's literally untouchable.
Don't give Tube ideas.
Philly is an ugly city, so the passenger apathy is no surprise here...
Most Inappropriately Named City?
Don't be, I burst out laughing.
Anyone reminded of the one incident with the bus? The decapitation and all that?
This is such a ridiculously random incident it doesnt matter where you live. Its like getting struck by lightning.
I at least partly understand people not wanting to tango with crazy hammer wielding dude, but you would think someone would offer to help the victim afterwards.
I meant the reaction of the passengers, many of whom ride daily. I recognize one of the guys in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-p4np9zJNtQ
I can't really blame the passengers for not stopping him when I see how close he was to that backpack for most of the time.
If I made more money I'd look at Seattle, but as it is... eh. I get the impression that I couldn't live as close to an urban center on the West Coast (in my price range).
Most people in Philadelphia don't blame the cops. This is a very pro-cop city (except amongst the very poor). People blame SEPTA, which while perhaps holding some validity is still off the mark because, as you say, people should be blaming... people.
Seattle is cheaper than a California city, and you may not need a car at all. Seattle is only unaffordable relative to inland cities.
It is very possible for me to get a 1br apartment for under $1,000 within walking distance of the city center. Granted it's not the financial center, but it's about as 'bustling' as Philly gets outside of the UoP campus.
Philly is a different animal than Boston or NYC.
Security camera footage of the assailant
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
You can get places in Seattle for under $500.
I blame the guy with the hammer.
SEPTA is the entire transit system (South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority). Sorry, I thought you meant the PPD. Yes, some people blame the SEPTA security guards, which as I said is dumb... after the incidents about 4 months back (including the beating to death of a popular figure, manager of a Starbucks near City Hall), SEPTA increased their presence greatly. So did the PPD, in fact.
Now that the incidents have really escalated I think SEPTA is doing an alright job under the circumstances. Not everyone does, though.
Pacific Northwest cities are crazy-cheap.
Whaaaaaaat? The Liberal media has lied to me!
edit: t than: damnit. I've been misled for sure.
East Coast cities are fucking expensive to live in. All of them. Personally, I don't get it.
Slightly anecdotal and totally divorced from real-life, situations like this remind me of the phenomenon on online MMO communities regarding the tendency for random strangers to completely ignore to calls of help from people if not already part of the same small sub-group (guild) or people. I suppose it's a trend of inward thinking of late that 'someone else will deal with it, why do I have to get involved', which is a pretty terrible way of viewing one's responsibility as a citizen/human being.
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Same thing happened in New York, famous case. People are douschbags, its not a geographical issue.