NYC subway shove suspect was out on nobail charges accusing him of harassing neighbor
Jan 01, 2025
The man accused of shoving a Manhattan commuter into the path of an oncoming subway train allegedly committed the assault while out on no-bail charges in a Brooklyn case alleging he harassed and doused a woman in bleach.
Kamel Hawkins, 23, was detained in Manhattan early Wednesday, facing second-degree attempted murder and four felony assault counts for allegedly shoving 43-year-old Joseph Lynskey in front of a 1 train on New Year’s Eve as it pulled into the station at W. 18th St. in Chelsea around 1:40 p.m.
Two months before the shoving incident, the NYPD arrested Hawkins for allegedly harassing and assaulting a young woman who lived near his family’s Fort Greene home during a string of incidents that played out over a week in October and charged him with misdemeanor offenses that were not eligible for bail.
Disturbing video shows a man in black appearing to deliberately push a man on the platform into the path of an oncoming train. (Obtained by Daily News)
Hawkins is accused in charging documents of throwing bleach at the woman in the stairwell of her building on Oct. 17. The incident occurred a week after he allegedly sent her inappropriate text messages that made her fearful she faced physical harm and, another night, damaged her front door by kicking and banging on it.
Hawkins allegedly followed the woman days after the bleach-throwing incident on Oct. 19 and was arrested. He was charged with multiple misdemeanor counts of aggravated harassment, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and related offenses and released on his own recognizance at his arraignment. A spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said the charges were not bail-eligible.
Hawkins is due back in court in the Brooklyn case on Jan. 29. The Daily News could not reach the victim involved for comment.
The Brooklyn man was detained without bail in Manhattan early Wednesday when prosecutors alleged he injured Lynskey’s skull, broke four of his ribs, and ruptured his spleen during the Tuesday shoving incident. He could face up to 25 years in prison if convicted of attempted murder.
Joseph Lynskey was run over by a No. 1 train at the W. 18th St. in Manhattan on Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, after being pushed by a man in a ski mask and black bubble jacket. (Facebook)
Lynskey, 45, the head of content and music programming for a Manhattan-based entertainment agency, Gray V, miraculously survived the incident and was recovering at Bellevue Hospital Wednesday, his brother told The News.
Attorneys and relatives for Hawkins did not respond to requests for comment. In an interview with The New York Times, his father, Shamel Spencer, expressed shock at the allegations and said his son was a good kid and gainfully employed at a moving company.
Spencer said his son’s mental health appeared to have faltered and questioned whether that was related to marijuana use.
“I just know right now he’s not himself,” Spencer told the newspaper.