(Dmytro “Henry” Aleksandrov, Headline USA) New York City police arrested a man who opened fire on a subway platform to defend a woman on Tuesday night by scaring off a would-be mugger who tried to steal her purse.
The would-be mugger was also facing attempted robbery charges, Fox News reported.
It was revealed that nobody was hurt in the altercation, which happened after a 49-year-old homeless man tried to mug an unidentified 40-year-old woman near the exit of the subway station.
Hours after asking for the public’s help tracking him down in connection with an altercation on the 49th Street NRW station platform that happened the evening before, the NYPD was eventually able to find and arrest John Rote, 43, of Queens, on Wednesday afternoon.
It was reported by the authorities that Rote overheard Matthew Roesch, the homeless man who tried to mug the woman, demanding that she must give him her money or he’d steal her purse.
Rote was accused of firing shots and interrupting the attempted robbery without hurting anyone. Surveillance images also indicated that, after he defended the woman from the would-be mugger, he calmly walked out through the turnstile, carrying a tote bag from a popular camera store, a green bookbag and a tablet.
As of Nov. 10, 2023, Rote faced charges of criminal possession of a weapon, reckless endangerment, criminal possession of a firearm and menacing.
Instead of defending the man who tried to protect an innocent person from getting mugged by a homeless person, one of the city officials blamed and criticized Rote’s behavior.
“I want to be clear: we don’t tolerate this kind of conduct in NYC Transit, period. Once again cameras recorded a perpetrator, and we are grateful the NYPD made an arrest within hours. Thank goodness nobody was hurt here – but what occurred was outrageous, reckless, and unacceptable,” the city’s top transit official, Richard Davey, said in a statement after Rote was arrested.
