Man Shot Dead on Midtown Subway Platform; NYPD Hunting Gunman

A man in his 30s was shot and killed on the northbound E train platform at the 53rd Street–Seventh Avenue subway station in Midtown Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, and the gunman is still on the loose, according to the New York Police Department.

The NYPD said in a wanted notice posted on X that the shooting happened at about 12:21 p.m. Saturday, October 17, and that the shooter “then fled on foot, heading northbound” from the station. Police released a photo of the person they want to identify and are asking the public for help.

Wanted for a Homicide: On Saturday, October 17, 2026, at approximately 12:21 PM, on the northbound E train platform of the 53rd Street–7th Avenue subway station in Manhattan, this individual shot and killed a man in his 30s. The individual then fled on foot, heading northbound on… pic.twitter.com/hf0QQziw6Q

— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) October 17, 2026

According to CBS News New York, police said at a Saturday afternoon press conference that two men got into a dispute on the platform, that the argument spilled onto an E train that had pulled into the station, and that it then moved back onto the platform. Police said it is still unclear whether the shots were fired on the platform or inside the train, CBS New York reported.

The victim was shot in the chest and taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival shortly after 1 p.m., Gothamist reported, citing police. His name has not been released while police notify his family, according to CBS New York.

Gunman fled north on foot

No arrests have been announced, ABC7 New York reported. CBS New York said the man police are looking for was last seen wearing a red tracksuit, a black vest and a black face mask.

Police told ABC7 the shooting was not a random act, and sources told the station the two men had been arguing before shots were fired. Gothamist reported that police do not yet know whether the victim knew the man who shot him. The MTA has said three people were involved in the dispute, according to Gothamist.

A witness told CBS New York that she and her daughter had just boarded the train and sat down when they heard multiple shots on the platform. “All of a sudden I heard a shot, and then there was like a mass exodus. Everyone started running out, and then there was at least probably three more,” the daughter told the station.

MTA: “Guns have no place in transit”

MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper said in a statement quoted by ABC7 that the agency has worked with the NYPD “from the earliest minutes — especially to retrieve video from platform and train car cameras.”

“Guns have no place in transit which is why we’ve strongly supported New York State’s legal fight to make sure it’s illegal to carry them in the subway system,” Kemper said, according to ABC7. “The perpetrators will be caught and should face maximum consequences from the justice system. It is fortunate nobody outside the fight was hurt.”

The shooting snarled Saturday service through one of Manhattan’s busiest corridors. CBS New York reported that the MTA had C, D and E trains bypassing the Seventh Avenue station in both directions, with E trains rerouted along the F line and delays on the A, C, D, E and F lines.

Shootings in the subway system have risen this year. As of October 11, four people had been shot in the transit system in 2026, up from two over the same period in 2025, Gothamist reported, citing NYPD statistics.

Police are urging anyone with information to call the NYPD Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish, according to CBS New York. Tips can also be sent to @NYPDTips on X.

Daily Beltway will update this story as police release more information.

Sources

• NYPD wanted notice on X
• CBS News New York
• ABC7 New York
• Gothamist

Reporting by Daily Beltway.