Knockout game? Man punched onto subway tracks in unprovoked attack

Transit cops will work longer shifts

Amid an alarming rise in violent attacks in the subway system, the NYPD will schedule patrol cops on 12-hour shifts.

NEW YORK - Police have arrested a 21-year-old man who is accused of a random punch attack that sent the victim plunging off the platform onto the subway tracks.

It happened around 9:45 p.m. Sunday at the 149th Street Grand Concourse Subway Station in the Bronx.

A 62-year-old man was waiting on the platform for a 4 train.

The NYPD says that 21-year-old Deshaun Smith walked up to him and slugged him in the face. The punch sent the victim down into the tracks.

He was removed from the tracks and reportedly didn't want any medical help at the scene.

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More assaults in NYC subway

Stabbing, pushing, punching, shooting. Commuters in the New York City subway are dealing with a disconcerting spate violence. The mayor and the governor keep promising action but many riders and officials are skeptical about the promises.

Police arrested Smith and he is charged with assault and reckless endangerment. It was unclear if he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

The Post cited police sources that they were looking into the possibility that it may have been a "knockout game" attack. The goal supposedly is to punch a stranger unconscious with a single blow.

Last week, a retired NYPD officer was punched in the back of the head in Brighton Beach in what may have been a similar type of assault.

There have been a series of attacks in the NYC subway recently. Some of them have been fatal.

Just on Friday a man ran and pushed a person onto the tracks inside a Brooklyn subway station.

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