It’s every commuter’s worst nightmare: a fight on a subway car, culminating in gunfire — thanks to a man with evident mental illness.
And New York lawmakers don’t care that it keeps happening.
The latest horror, caught on video, began on the A train Thursday when a guy now ID’d as Dajuan Robinson harangued other riders for two minutes; he then instigates a fight as a woman pleads “there’s babies on here!”
Next he pulled a knife, then a gun — and wound up shot himself.
Robinson is in critical condition; the shooter quite rightly faces no charges because it’s a clear case of self-defense.
Mayor Adams highlighted the “severe mental health” problems that Robinson showed and pushed state lawmakers to pass the Supportive Interventions Act, which he first put forward last year after Jordan Neely’s death.
The bill would allow for involuntary confinement of the severely mentally ill before they pose an unmistakable threat to public safety; current law plainly doesn’t go far enough, at least as most judges interpret it.
That is: People who should be getting pulled off the street and forced into treatment just aren’t.
This is beyond obvious: The man arrested for stabbing two teens in Grand Central Terminal in December had 17 prior arrests and a history of psychological issues.
Kemal Rideout, busted for a series of random subway slashings last year, had five prior arrests, including for attempted rape, and a history of mental illness.
And don’t forget Brooklyn subway mass shooter Frank James, back in 2022, or the troubled souls behind subway shovings like the one that killed Michelle Go.
Heck, more than half of the perps responsible for attacks on MTA workers last year had long rap sheets and histories of psychological problems.
Danger is magnified in the close confines of the subway, but these troubled souls pose a threat to innocents above ground, too — yet the system lets them roam until they strike, and often even afterward.
Progressives insist that tougher laws will only lead to permanent confinement of those with mental illness.
Maybe that’s a risk, despite the huge local industry of “advocates” watching out for all New York’s unfortunates, but how does the status quo serve anyone?
Some people are too unwell to seek out and stick to treatment on their own; government needs the ability to step in.
For all the wailing about “compassion,” leaving people with serious mental illness to suffer, causing harm to themselves and those around them, is cruel and inhumane.
As Dajuan Robinson’s fate shows.
How much more will it take for New York’s leaders to do something?
Adams’ bill is no cure-all, but it’s a good place to start.
