Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., today announced the indictment of KAMAL SEMRADE, 39, for pushing a woman into the side of a departing train at the Lexington Avenue and 63rd Street station the morning of May 21, 2023, leaving her paralyzed from the shoulders down. SEMRADE is charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with one count of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree and one count of Assault in the First Degree.[1]
“Kamal Semrade now stands indicted on Attempted Murder for an alleged unprovoked attack on a straphanger,” said District Attorney Bragg. “My thoughts are with the victim, whose life is forever changed, and her loved ones. Anyone who seeks to cause harm in our subway system will be held accountable.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record, on May 21, 2023, SEMRADE allegedly attacked the 35-year-old woman as she commuted to work. He boarded the same train as the victim at the Roosevelt Avenue stop in Queens. He then got off at the same subway stop as her at 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue before the unprovoked attack. At approximately 6:05 a.m. he walked right behind her, adjacent to the train, before he grabbed her head with both his hands and shoved her with all his force into the moving subway car, which was accelerating to leave the station.
The victim’s face and head hit the train and she was flung back onto the platform, fracturing her spine. Following spinal surgery, she is still currently paralyzed from the shoulders down.
Immediately after the attack, SEMRADE fled the subway station. Upon returning to his shelter in Queens later that evening, SEMRADE placed the clothing he was wearing out for laundry service. He was identified by shelter employees based on an NYPD CrimeStoppers post, and arrested two days after the attack.
Assistant D.A. Katelyn Damanis is handling the prosecution of the case under the supervision of Assistant D.A.s Annie Siegel and Harrison Schweiloch (Deputy Chiefs of Trial Bureau 60) and Charles Whitt (Chief of Trial Bureau 60), and Executive Assistant D.A. Lisa DelPizzo (Chief of the Trial Division).
D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, particularly the Transit Manhattan Robbery Squad, and the members of Transit District 1.
Defendant Information:
KAMAL SEMRADE
Queens, New York
Charged:
- Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
- Assault in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
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[1] The charges contained in the indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. All factual recitations are derived from documents filed in court and statements made on the record in court.