An on-duty MTA worker was assaulted inside the Jackson Heights–Roosevelt Avenue/74th Street transit hub during an unprovoked attack on Sunday evening.
Police from the 115th Precinct reported that the NYC Transit employee was working as a platform controller at 5:45 p.m. on the Manhattan-bound 7 train when a stranger approached him and asked, “Do you know me?”
The MTA worker told the cops he stayed silent and the unknown man punched him in the face with a closed fist, causing pain and dizziness. Police said there were no weapons involved during the unprovoked attack. An NYPD spokeswoman was unable to provide a description of the suspect, who remains at large. The worker was taken to Elmhurst Hospital for treatment.
There was no effect on the 7 line service, according to an MTA spokeswoman.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Jan. 11, the 115th Precinct has reported 11 felony assaults so far in 2026, 13 fewer than the 24 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 54.2%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
The Jackson Heights assault was the second unprovoked attack on an MTA worker in Queens in three days. Police from the 101st Precinct in Far Rockaway and Transit District 23 reported that a 37-year-old MTA conductor was on board an A train entering the Beach 25th subway station at 1:24 a.m., on Thursday, Jan. 15, when an unknown man on the northbound platform punched him in the face with a closed fist through an open window. The blow landed with such force that the victim’s head struck the back of the conductor’s cabin, police said.
His assailant ran out of the station onto the Rockaway Freeway and fled in an unknown direction. EMS responded to the scene and transported the victim the St. John’s Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, where he was listed in stable condition. The NYPD described the suspect as having a medium complexion who was last seen wearing a black hooded sweatshirt with graphic designs, a red undershirt and blue jeans.
He remains at large, an NYPD spokeswoman said on Monday.
A reward of up to $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to his arrest and indictment.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Jan. 11, the 101st Precinct has reported 17 felony assaults so far this year, nine more than the eight reported at the same point in 2025, an increase of 112.5%, according to the most recent CompStat report.
