Teen killed subway surfing; NYPD warns kids as young as 10 joined the deadly trend

A teen died while subway surfing on the Williamsburg Bridge. The NYPD warned New Yorkers against participating and urged people to call 911 if they see someone subway surfing, while riding inside and staying alive. NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said the average age of subway surfers is 14, with children as young as 10 involved. He said videos shared on phones are driving the behavior and asked parents to check for shared videos, subway keys resembling skeleton keys, and MTA vests or radios. He urged friends, students, and schools to report concerns to trusted adults and guidance staff. He said calls to 911 and 311 provide data for deployments and enable fast response to save lives.

"“Last week, a teen was killed while subway surfing on the Williamsburg Bridge,” the NYPD posted on X. “The NYPD has dedicated resources to stop these tragedies, but we also need the help of New Yorkers. If you see someone subway surfing, call 911. Ride inside. Stay alive.”"

"“Unfortunately, we lost another child the other day on the Williamsburg Bridge. We look at the average age of a subway surfer, it's 14 years old. But we've seen children as young as 10 years old subway surfing.”"

"“If you're a parent, I'm gonna ask you to look for a few things. Look at your child's phone. They are sharing videos of each other - that is what is driving a lot of this. Check if your child has subway keys - they look like skeleton keys. You see MTA vests or you see that they may have an MTA radio. If you're a friend or a student, or you know someone subway surfing, beg them to stop. Go to a trusted parent - let them know what's going on. In school, go to your guidance counselor, go to your principal. Come to the transit district. We have teams that handle subway surfing,”"

"“New Yorkers are our eyes and ears out there, and we know for a fact that when you see something, you call. What I'm gonna ask is continue calling 911, continue calling 311. We use that data when we do our deployments, and we could respond very quickly. And you're gonna help save a life.”"

Read at KOMO