Psycho hammers subway passenger

Psycho hammers subway passenger

www.philly.com

Without uttering a word, police said, the unidentified man whipped out a double-claw hammer and began bludgeoning a 20-year-old man who was dozing off in his seat.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Another person attacking an innocent bystander and nobody helped at all. And with a little boy watching? The world is a cold, cruel place.

www.philly.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

You just gotta take action in a situation like that. That attacker didn't look overly huge either. I'd get the fire extinguiher and hammer him in the head or spray his face to disorient him then jump him with the other heroes I would inspire.

Well, there you go. Noone helped and what's the excuse this time? It wasn't a knife or a gun but a lousy hammer.

The real moral of the story is don't fall asleep in public, especially if you have an iPod.

Then again it could be a government operation to justify and have people ask for more screening in every part of daily life. Nothing seems to crazy to wonder about now.

Like everyone else on the forum, from behind a keyboard right now I can say I too would have stepped in. However I do not know what I'd do if I was there with the adrenaline freezing me up. Hopefully I would still come to his defense. The situation is unpredictable so I don't hold anything against the other passengers.

I just saw this story and video on my local news. They said it was most likely gang related. Very sad that a child had to see this.

With the economy in the dumps, perhaps there is a game being played where people would rather get into jail to at least receive the basics. If they run off, maybe they felt what they just did wasn't such a good idea.

Around here, the police stated they would detain anyone trying to get jailed if they simply decided to steal some bread which could lead to people attempting more serious actions.

Then again, I could go on all day with possibile motives.

I see no real excuse yet for not helping out in this situation. Amazing.

Wow, what an awful story. It might be understandable to stand by while the attack is occurring, perhaps out of fear or shock, but I am baffled by the fact that no one helped the man AFTER the attack was finished and the perpetrator had left. It says that the victim stumbled back onto the subway alone and essentially took himself to the hospital. How on earth can any decent person see another human being, bloodied and disoriented, and not attempt to help? I have always assumed that most people would instinctually react to assist someone in a situation like this, if only by calling emergency services, but apparently I've been ignorant.

And aren't there generally security guards posted throughout Philadelphia's subway systems? Or at least ticket operators and janitors here and there? I would think employees of some kind were in the general vicinity. If so, this story is an even greater mystery.



[edit on 10/9/08 by paperplanes]

this is completely disgusting. That is why I recently started carrying a knife on my belt loop last month. Typically in the past (I have been attacked as a result of the lifestyle I used to live) I would just fight back. But lately I read and watch the news, and random people out of nowhere are assailing people with any number of weapons on public locations.

I drew the line at the man in Canada who played operation on an innocent bystander, and not a single person did anything to help. Thats when I decided I better at least carry something on me personally. My managers at work got no beef with it, as it is not against the law.

I always carry a 22 inch machete in my vehicle, but I want to have something on me personally for safety now. I would never, EVER watch as some bystander just gets brutally attacked for no apparent reason like that. You will see me go in and break limbs.

Hard to get involved in fights you have nothing to do with. you don't even know why they're fighting.

But this was an assault, a completely unprovoked attack on someone. Somebody should have stepped up and gotten involved.

There's definitely something going on right now, and I'd love to know what it is. The bus I take to get out of Seattle after work goes through the area around the stadiums & lower downtown. You always see bums as it passes by both the Lazarus mission and St. Andrews (I think?) but tonight the bums weren't just collected around those two places. They were spread out all the way North past the courthouse and I saw at least 3 different fights going on, one of them which looked like it was about to get really, really ugly with several people on each side pushing, shoving, and gesturing at each other. This wasn't the first time in the past couple of weeks I've seen bums arguing or even throwing down with each other here.

I think this whole "Blame the economy, blame people being fed up, blame the war, etc" is a total cop-out. The economy around here hasn't gotten any worse, the political mood here isn't that tense right now, and we're enjoying a beautiful stretch of perfect weather, dry, sunny, and comfortably warm, yet there's definitely an increase in restlessness & aggression. As far as what the real culprit is, I haven't a clue.

So yeah... why didnt that lil skinny dude start throwin some elbows and hitting with his shoe or something? He just kicked in the air a lil bit. If I was being assaulted with a hammer I would definately do SOMETHING. What a lil girl.

Whatever you do, don't post anything realistic about this. The moderaters will delete it.

Too bad the Victim had been effectively disarmed by the government.

This sort of thing wouldn't have happened if it was in a city that promotes gun ownership and open-carry.

If the victim called the police he likely would have been tazed or further beaten - likely to death.

An Armed Society is a polite society. And It has become all too obvious that the police are not here to protect us... not anymore. The few good cops have no influence in NeoCon America.

This sort of thing need not happen.


[edit on 10-9-2008 by TruthTellist]

Hi There,

Philly.com:

When the beating was finished and the suspect fled with the little boy, the victim staggered back onto the train, bloodied, confused and alone, said Detective Kenneth Roach, of Central Detectives.

And even then, no one tried to help him.

"Somebody should have helped this guy," Roach said. "I understand the [other] guy had a hammer, but they outnumbered him at least 10 to one."

Miraculously, the victim took the subway up to Temple University Hospital, received several staples and sutures and was discharged, Roach said.

Incredible and disgusting! People are becoming more and more like H.G. Wells' Eloi. What a sad state of affairs...no wonder governments can please themselves with whatever they wish to do. Oh look! Someone's being attcked! Quick, everyone pretend nothing's happening...all heads promptly into the sand, please!

The poor fellow will be scarred mentally for quite some time...unable to compute the 'why' of his being attacked, he will suffer anguish and panic in very public places, amplified by this awful memory and unable to integrate it into his daily understanding. Equally, I hope those whom gave no aid - even whence the attack had ended and the assailant had escaped free to attack again - suffer the acute anguish of guilt in their quiet and private moments everytime they look in a mirror.

My sympathies to the victim...

Originally posted by Cowgirlstraitup7
I just saw this story and video on my local news. They said it was most likely gang related. Very sad that a child had to see this.

Yeah it seemed as if there could have been a real motive. Very sane and intentional actions on the part of the attacker. The other passengers could have picked up on that (perhaps a verbal exchange).

If I thought they knew eachother I would not have gotten involved either, that falls under "other people's business".

Originally posted by EnlightenUp
With the economy in the dumps, perhaps there is a game being played where people would rather get into jail to at least receive the basics. If they run off, maybe they felt what they just did wasn't such a good idea.

That is what usualy happens if someone is in poverty or generally struggling in life. It usually happens to Drug addicts and homeless people, but this was a random attack. This world gets crazier by the day, everyone has too look out for each other if not only themselves.

reply to post by TruthTellist


You're right, someone would have died. And if we're lucky, it would have been the assailant.

A much better outcome, I'm sure.

philly.com states that the man was beaten with a "double claw hammer" for "five minutes" to the "head and neck" and all he got was "staples"??
what the heck went wrong? if someone is completely unaware of a HAMMER attack, the first blow would most likely knock him into unconciousness. what is a double claw hammer? what would that be used for? five minutes of a hammer beating would certainly kill a man. staples? no concussion? internal head injury? something about the reporting of this story is very wrong...
not to belittle the obvious video facts, that man was definately attacked unprevoked with a blunt object. not cool by anyones standards. its a shame a kid was forced to participate. that man should be thrown away for a long time. the kid needs some psychoanalysis. by the way, the attacker would not last long in prison. if you like to attack anonymous bystanders but cannot finish the job on a sleeping victim in 5 mins with a hammer. you will make "more efficient" enemies very quickly.