# disaster
A woman was pushed to her death in front of an oncoming train in New York City on Saturday morning.
New York City police said the incident happened around 9:30 a.m. at The Times Square subway station near 42nd Street and Broadway.
The 40-year-old woman was pushed onto the tracks and struck by a southbound R train, a police spokesman said. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Chief Keechant Sewell said at a news conference with station Mayor Eric Adams that the man thought he was responsible for fleeing the scene but handed himself over to transit police shortly after.
"The incident was unprovoked and the victim did not appear to have any interaction with the subject," Sewell said.
New York City crime statistics show a significant increase in anti-Asian hate crimes last year. The New York Police Department said late last year that incidents against Asians had increased 361 percent through December 2021 compared with the previous year.
Anti-asian hate crimes and incidents have spiked across the country during the pandemic.