Philadelphia police are investigating a fight in a subway station that resulted in the death of a man after he fell onto the tracks as a train approached.
As reported by NBC Philadelphia, a video of the incident showed two men fighting on the Market-Frankford line at the SEPTA train station at 34th and Market Streets on Thursday, January 4. In the clip, one of the men could be seen pushing back the other as a train approached, with him falling onto the tracks just as it pulled into the station.
"Looked like appeared to be some type of physical altercation. We don't know exactly what took place prior to that to initiate this, but it's being investigated at this point," said Philadelphia Police Inspector Kpana Massasquoi. The station was shut down for hours after the incident took place, with SEPTA officials implementing replacement bus services for riders on the impacted routes.
Police are investigating the relationship between the two individuals seen in the clip to deduce what caused their fatal fight. They added that it is being treated as a homicide. The man who pushed the dead individual was taken into police custody at the 40th Street Station, which is one stop away from where the encounter took place.
The two men have not yet been identified.
Last month, the city of Philadelphia announced that ski masks would be banned due to an alleged rise in masked crime. “The City of Philadelphia has been under siege with individuals who use ski masks to commit crimes. It’s caught onto not just young people, but young adults who have made this a particular thing to do," said council member Anthony Phillips. "The Philadelphia Police Department can’t tell who’s a criminal and not a criminal, which makes it difficult for crimes to be solved in Philadelphia."
