2 tourists from Mexico shoved onto NYC subway tracks: 'Everybody’s getting pushed'

LOWER EAST SIDE - Two tourists were shoved onto subway tracks on the Lower East Side on Monday, according to sources.

Sources say the women are tourists from Mexico and were pushed onto the tracks while waiting for the train at the Delancey Street and Essex Street subway station around 2:15 a.m.

According to police, the two 28-year-old victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition after suffering minor injuries. Neither were struck by a subway. 

"That’s so scary, like, honestly, I get scared nowadays because everybody's getting pushed in. These women are getting attacked in the evening time, in between cars. Like there's a lot of scary stuff going on," a woman at the subway station said.

Police arrested 42-year-old Ebony Butts, of Brooklyn, for allegedly pushing the women.

Butts was charged with reckless endangerment and assault for the unprovoked attack.

The motive is unclear, but when asked about the incident, the MTA brought up mental illness. 

"Being in a subway platform or in a subway car with someone who’s having psychosis is really disturbing, so we are pushing to stop that," MTA chair Janno Lieber said.

The MTA also mentioned its scout program where police officers with a clinician look for the most troubled individuals in the transit system and attempt to connect them to services.

Other tourists, in the meantime, are taking advice from local relatives.

"I was just talking to my niece who lives here, and I noticed she was standing further back. I asked her, 'Do you that often?' and she said, 'Yes.' So I’m trying to stand further back, but I forgot sometimes," a tourist said.

"We’ve got family here. And they did say never stand too close just in case somebody may come by, and you know you may have an accident and be wary of any suspicious characters I suppose," another tourist said.