Eric Adams says mental illness driving subway safety woes — not guns

Mayor Eric Adams U-turned Thursday and mentioned that psychological well being points — not unlawful weapons — are driving a months-long spate of violence underground on the subways.

Hizzoner acknowledged the hyperlink simply days after he dismissed the premise Monday and blamed the surge in homicides and assaults underground on firearms flooding the streets of the Massive Apple.

“While you do an evaluation of the subway crimes we're seeing, you might be seeing it's pushed by individuals with psychological well being points,” Adams advised reporters throughout a press convention about an unrelated occasion in Brooklyn.

“When you received a ninja outfit on and you might be operating round with a sword, then one thing is incorrect,” he mentioned, apparently referring to an assault with a sword scabbard within the subway Thursday.

He then added: “Michelle Go’s homicide,” referring to the deadly subway shoving assault in January that made headlines all over the world, “you might be seeing this psychological well being difficulty that we face.”

This is a sharp u-turn from his previous claims that illegal guns are causing the increase.
Mayor Eric Adams mentioned that psychological well being points are driving the subway crime spike.
Michael Brochstein/Sipa USA

Go’s attacker, Martial Simon, was deemed unfit to face trial for causes of psychological sickness and confined to an establishment.

Metropolis Corridor, Adams mentioned, is trying to step up its response and would announce new efforts within the “couple of days” to fight untreated psychological sickness and homelessness within the subways.

The mayor’s remarks stood in sharp distinction to his statements earlier within the week, when he downplayed connecting untreated psychological well being points to the spasms of violence on the subways, which exploded within the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

There has been a sharp increase in subway crimes in recent months.
Final week, Adams downplayed untreated psychological well being points as the reason for improve.
Robert Miller

There have been 9 homicides underground thus far this 12 months, up from six reported in 2021 and two in 2020. All of these figures are properly in extra of pre-pandemic ranges, when the system system normally averaged a complete 12 months or extra between murders.

“Success is nobody being in any method impacted by anybody that’s coping with emotional points or violence since you form of introduced them each collectively,” Adams advised a reporter.

“I feel we've eight homicides this 12 months, two greater than final 12 months,” he continued. “You may’t tie all of them to individuals with emotional points.”

Go's shover was deemed too mentally ill to stand trial.
Michelle Go was killed by a subway shover in January.
Stephen Yang

When pressed why the murder figures had surged, Adams then blamed weapons — despite the fact that they’ve solely been linked to a few of the 17 homicides for the reason that COVID outbreak.

“These weapons which might be on our streets, they’re additionally in our subway system, they’re additionally in our faculties,” he mentioned. “They’re in every single place we're as harmless New Yorkers.”

Adams couched his about-face on Thursday by claiming that his remarks from Monday had been “misinterpreted” by reporters and that he had been speaking concerning the deadly subway capturing of teenager on the Rockaways.

Metropolis Corridor Press Secretary Fabien Levy disputed that Adams had reversed himself on the foremost causes of subway crime.

“Because the mayor all the time says, there are lots of rivers feeding the ocean of violence in our metropolis, and we have to dam each one,” he mentioned in an announcement. “A type of rivers is gun violence and one other is the psychological well being disaster.”

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