UPDATED 5/24, 11 a.m. ET: A 23-year-old suspect has been arrested in the case of what an anonymous MTA employee called "a nutcase who is addicted to fucking with the trains" in NYC. Per a local NBC report, Isaiah Thompson was arrested at his home just before 12:30 a.m. Friday following the receipt of an outside tip. As it stands now, Thompson faces multiple potential charges including reckless endangerment and criminal trespass after alleged involvement in "at least" 40 brake pulls since March of this year.
See original story below.
At a board meeting Wednesday, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority CEO Pat Foye confirmed that "a person [or] group of people" have been deliberately pulling emergency train brakes in NYC. A Jalopnikreport, including comments from an MTA source, more specifically alleges that the delays-causing perpetrator is a lone individual described as "a nutcase who is addicted to fucking with the trains."
This individual, identity not presently known aside from a physical description of being a young white male wearing all black clothes, is believed to have disrupted the train flow by sneaking into cabs and pulling the brakes, thus bringing "entire lines' to a halt during peak hours. The Jalopnik report confirms there are currently "at least three" internal incident reports related to this pattern.
Thus far, the public transportation sabotage has been mostly related to the 2 and 5 lines from Flatbush Avenue in central Brooklyn to midtown Manhattan. The man's method begins with hopping aboard the back of a train during departure, at which point he does his damage before disappearing. The man has reportedly been doing this with a once-a-week average for months. During Wednesday's meeting, Foye speculated that the pattern may have been going on for "years."
Per the latest updates, the New York City Police Department is now involved.
