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Crime

See the Argument NYC Police Say Led to a Man Being Thrown on the Subway Tracks and Killed (and the Pic Taken Moments Before Death)

Dec. 4, 2012 9:05am Jonathon M. Seidl

It’s a concern every New Yorker has tucked away in the back of his or her mind: What would happen if I were to fall or get pushed on the subway tracks? On Monday, that nightmare became a reality for one NYC resident, and police are saying it happened at the hands of another “deranged” passenger. And now a picture shows the moments before the man’s death and authorities have released video showing what they believe is the argument that led up to the alleged murder.

The victim, 58-year-old Ki-Suck Han of Queens, was at the 49th street station near Times Square when he apparently confronted another passenger who was “acting crazy,” according to WPIX-TV (there is also a report that Han may have left his home earlier that day angry and intoxicated). That conversation went south in a hurry, and the man eventually threw Han onto the tracks as a train approached. Han frantically tried to climb back on the platform, but to no avail.

Freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi ran toward Han and started firing his flash in order to get the train to stop.

“I just started running, running, hoping that the driver could see my flash,” Abbasi told the New York Post.

The train did slow down, but it could not stop in time. Abbasi said it eventually “crushed him like a rag doll.”

You can see the incredible, heartbreaking photos Abbasi captured moments before Han’s death in the video report below:

But that wasn’t the only image captured as the incident unfolded. One bystander captured the argument between Han and his attacker and turned it over to police, and authorities have now released it in hopes of identifying and capturing the man:

The Post details what exactly happened:

The horrific drama unfolded after Han approached the crazed man — who police sources described as a panhandler and witnesses said had been harassing and cursing at straphangers — on the southbound platform and tried to calm him down.

As other riders congregated toward one end of the platform, Han and the man were about 100 feet away from them.

“He went up and tried to calm him down, saying, ‘You’re scaring people,’ ” a law-enforcement source said.

“The emotionally disturbed guy just started screaming and cursing, saying, ‘You don’t know me! You don’t know who I am!’ ”

As the train’s arrival was announced over the loudspeaker, the attacker “just grabbed [Han] and launched him — just threw him — straight onto the tracks,” a witness said.

The killer then grabbed a paper coffee cup he used to collect change — which he’d put down before the assault — and fled.

A second-year doctor in residence, Laura Kaplan, was also on the platform at the time. When she saw Han get hit, she rushed to help. But it was too late.

“I heard what I thought were heart sounds,” she told the Post. But he never responded.

“There was blood coming out his mouth. We couldn’t do CPR. He wasn’t in the right position. and there was just no way to get him out of there.”

“People are just standing there in fear and shock, not really knowing what’s going on,” Patrick Gomez, another bystander, told WNBC. “Some people started running out of the platform, others just stood there.”

Similar assaults — where someone is deliberately pushed onto the tracks — are rare, but they do happen. As WNBC notes, the most high profile one happened in 1999, when a mental patient admitted he pushed Kendra Webdale to her death. That led to “Kendra’s Law,” which allows authorities to monitor patients outside facilities to make sure they’re taking their medicine and aren’t a danger.

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Comments (100)

Walkabout
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:58am
Aggressive or deranged pan handlers never intimidated, hurt or killed anyone.

If you can get past the police phalanx of liberal mayor Bloomberg, he will tell you so.

Liberal policies kill another person.

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- v15
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 2:22pm
  Subways no way for a good man to go down…
  Rich man can ride and the Viet cong he can drown
  And I thank the lord for the people I have found
  I thank the lord for the people I have foooooouuuunddd!!
  
  Report this comment
- v15
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 2:29pm
  btw ..
  
  Would YOU like a front row seat to the next big TERRORIST ATTACK on American soil? Then come on up to sunny New York City where we can’t tell the difference between the rats and the people!!!
  
  Report this comment
- pavepaws
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 3:41pm
  Thank goodness the deranged man didn’t have a gun. He could have killed someone. Oh wait, he didn’t have a gun, but still someone died at his hands. Tell Costas. I expect a rant this Sunday.
  
  Report this comment
- KIWL-DA-WABBIT
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 6:07pm
  From the one video the deranged man did tell him to leave him alone. But because he was most likely drunk he did not have the sense to do so. That’s what it looks like. The man had no business pushing him onto the tracks though. It just seems like the man was not completely innocent in his demise.
  
  Report this comment
- HappyConservative
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:58pm
  Well I have to say what nobody especially NBC and MSNBC will venture forth with. The attacker was a black man, go figure. So I’m betting they won’t report it.
  And The Voice on – yep NBC – is pushing for the 3rd black male soul singer to win who like the past two winners will go nowhere in an already saturated market. And this whole Obama thing. What is with all the black love all of the sudden? Can someone not just be judged on their merits? I don’t recognize my country any more
  
  Report this comment
- sillyfreshness
  Posted on December 5, 2012 at 12:24am
  Wow, a black dude committing a crime…….that’s unusual.
  
  Report this comment
- muffythetuffy
  Posted on December 5, 2012 at 5:21pm
  THIS IS JUST THE PRICE YOU HAVE TO PAY FOR BEING ABLE TO LIVE IN THE WORLD’s BEST CITY
  
  One man is dead. We cannot bring him back so lets just forget what happen and move on. Let the healing begin. Finding the culprit will not feed a hungry child.
  
  Report this comment
huey6367
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:37am
Obviously the subway train killed that poor man. Not the guy who shoved him on the tracks. BAN SUBWAYS – THEY KILL PEOPLE!!

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- HowTruthHurts
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:49am
  Ha ha ha…clever and true
  
  Report this comment
do_in_it_2
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:27am
Have they caught the subway yet or is it still at large. Ban Subways they kill people.

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rosegrower
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:26am
But…..but….. it’s GUNS that are the problem, not deranged people! Just ask Bob Costas.

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jas0707
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:25am
The spokesperson assumes he works.

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schroeder123
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:24am
The Big apple , where people interact with each other, what a Joke.
That cop needs his head examined. What an a$$.
No gun carry permits in new york. Only robbers and thieves are allowed to have guns.
No big drink and no fatty foods.

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- DenverKitty
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 4:13pm
  Shrroeder, I cannot see me ever going to New York…why look for trouble? After Iran bombs Washington DC., they might consider leveling the Big Apple.
  
  Report this comment
mikem1969
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:02am
First let me say God be with this mans family.
Second, may the killer be shoved in front of a bus sometime soon so he can die in a similar way to his victim.

Third, I see people joking about costas and hs ant-gun rant. Let’s stop joking, and EVERY SIGLE TIME someone dies for what ever reason, flood the net with it needs to be banned or outlawed or regultated to death. Let’s hit the libs with their very tools.

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- macpappy
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 6:29pm
  Wow, invoke the name of God in one breath, and wish death on another man in the next. Southern Baptist?
  
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Exidor
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:55am
That’s it. Stand there and take pictures. Don’t try to help him.

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- RRFlyer
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:13am
  They did try to help. read. also please tell how you would become a hero and save him.
  
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- ema
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:21am
  Exactly what I was thinking. People, throw your cameras down and help people!!
  
  Report this comment
- 1947
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:37am
  The individual taking the pic was part of movie “Taken Someone Down NYC” Subway……..
  
  Report this comment
- 1947
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:49am
  Maybe the individual taking the pic’s is seeing this as part of a CSI program
  
  Report this comment
- txgrrl
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 3:48pm
  Sad when the first reaction is to film it, but not help. SAD.
  
  Report this comment
- Twobyfour
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 6:57pm
  The train is about a second from hitting the man on tracks. Based on the angle, the picture is taken about 20 yards from the man. Even a superman could do nothing but take a pic. Yes, Nuyawkers are famous for walking around dying people on the street without a smidgen of compassion or care, but in this case, the blame is a bit misplaced.
  
  Report this comment
scrapadapolis
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:34am
I heard Bloomberg is cracking down on the speed subway trains can travel, while hes in virginia trying to get them to outlaw guns.Does that guy think he’s that powerful as to first track arizoians gun buying habits,now in Va demanding strict gun gontrol.

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biohazard23
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:33am
Oh no, a subway train killed someone who was shoved onto the tracks! BAN SUBWAYS IN NYC!!!! They must be a deadly menace to society!!

Right, Jason Whitlock and Bob Costas?

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jungle J
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:33am
animals rule the cities and much of America.

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- 123456beatriz
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:30am
  This problem is around the world is not only in America, this is the third step for the Αποκαλυψις
  
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BlackCrow
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:32am
Any time you pack to many animals into to little space this is what you get.

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Smokey_Bojangles
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:32am
Does this mean that Bob Costas is going to do a commentary on banning crazy people next?

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- limalima
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:01am
  No, no. He’ll want to ban trains. If that was done, this poor guy would still be alive.
  
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- stumpy68
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:56am
  No Trains crazy people are fine in fact they run newyork
  
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DirtyHarry7
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:32am
Esculates?

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- progressiveslayer
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:17am
  Escalade?
  
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- Fubared
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 1:32pm
  Escapades?
  
  Report this comment
- OhioRifleman
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 2:50pm
  Escalators?
  
  Report this comment
- Ken99999
  Posted on December 5, 2012 at 2:11pm
  Escapee?
  
  Report this comment
huey6367
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:31am
I am surprised the left hasn’t tried to conduct a multi-million dollar study to determine there is nothing that can be done and then picket the subway system to run them out of business so no one else dies. The logic – if the subway system didn’t exist, that man would never have died.

Sounds reasonable. Are you listening Bloomberg? (sarcasm)

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Proverbs17-12NLT
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:31am
Just another Black who ran out of Hopey Changey

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Just_Us2
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:30am
Let’s be clear about this…the subway car killed this person. Ban subways…shut them down and talk about it on TV during Sunday Night Football.

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- poorrichard09
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:33am
  Yes, if subways weren’t so easily available that man would still be alive. Ban subways is NYC!
  
  Report this comment
- Cibolo
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:33am
  LMAO, Knives too, that’s what kill Nicole Brown Simpson!!!! While we are at it, plains, cars, buildings, water, air, etc, etc, etc.
  
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Cibolo
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:29am
Isn’t that the guy who got the free boots from the cop?

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SREGN
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:29am
We all got along pretty good before the Obamas came to town.

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ThoreauHD
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:27am
Apparently nobody in New York City can lift a little asian man. Except of course the guy that pushed him into the tracks.

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- xenolith
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:27pm
  That’s what I was thinking.
  
  By the pictures and videos, I’d say he weighed no more than 150 pounds. Even without the consequential adrenaline rush, I could have lifted him out of there with one hand, and I only weigh 175.
  
  I guess heroes have become few and far-flung with cities so chock full of weak, effeminate men.
  
  Report this comment
- xenolith
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:34pm
  Upon further review, that poor guy could not have weighed more than 120 pounds.
  
  Pathetic.
  
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applehill
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:17am
The photographer really sounded like he tried to help. I couldn’t lift him so I just rapidly took pictures. Yeah….

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- idarusskie
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 10:03am
  who knows what little extra help might have saved him.
  
  Report this comment
Crazyotto
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:15am
A homeless Black nut-case kills someone. I can’t wait for the libs/ Al Sharpton/ NBPP to come running to his defense .. in the end it will be the victims fault .. because he was a racist…

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Texas Hills Patriot
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:12am
When are we going to confront the fact that subway cars kill people? I understand that Costas is going to do a commentary on it, quoting someone else, of course. Costas likes hiding behind others words.

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- Proverbs17-12NLT
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:32am
  Now that is hilarious Texas, Nice post!
  
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ares338
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:12am
Hey…..let’s go to The Big Apple and ride the subway. It’s safe…..there’s none of those evil over 16oz. Sodas to kill you there.

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Snowleopard {gallery of cat folks}
Posted on December 4, 2012 at 9:12am
God above be with that family, and let the murderer be found and justice served.

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- AmericanStrega
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 11:18am
  Thank You Snow. You just about the ony one posting here who isn’t making light of the situation.
  
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- huntinwabbits
  Posted on December 4, 2012 at 12:24pm
  I am pretty certain that most every one on this site is feeling compassion and sympathy towards the victim. It is possible to have compassion for the victims family and also point out the mental illness that is liberalism. That being said, I have no problem with people “making light of the situation.” As much as the jokes about Costas fly, it is a very serious matter. Those jokes should be repeated and spread across the land. The stupidity of his remarks (and the left and in general) need to be brought to light. The left takes a situation and finds something to bring out of it to support their cause (no matter how dumb it is), why is it wrong for the right use a situation to point out something that represents freedom. Defending liberty requires much more then turning the other cheek and hiding in a spider hole. I am willing to bet that our freedoms won’t be so free if we remain silent about the ignorance of the left.
  
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