Shocking footage captured the moment a man was shoved underneath a New York City subway by a masked assailant who fled the scene.
Surveillance video showed the victim, 45, who has not been identified, standing by the edge of the platform as the subway approached at 18th street in Chelsea, Manhattan.
A masked man walked behind him, and after seemingly noticing the oncoming train, turned and pushed the victim in the back and sent him onto the tracks.
Two young men who jumped the turnstile to avoid paying for their ticket just seconds before then turned and fled after witnessing the shocking shove.
Cops launched an urgent manhunt for the suspect, who was later taken into custody several hours after the push. The NYPD did not immediately release an identity for the arrested suspect, and said charges against him are pending.
Separate footage shared by stunned passengers later showed the moment the victim was rescued from under the train, as bystanders breathed a sigh of relief to see he survived.
Around a dozen firefighters were seen working to pull the man from the subway tracks. Authorities said the victim, who appeared to have blood on his face, was hospitalized in critical condition.
A woman filming the encounter could be heard expressing her relief after the victim was helped onto the platform.
‘He’s alive!’ she said, before turning to other passengers and repeating: ‘He’s alive.’
Cops said the subway shover did not appear to know the victim, and described it as a random attack.
The subway platform was evacuated and the NYPD closed the scene as they investigate the incident.
The shocking incident is the latest of a string of horror attacks on New York City’s subway system.
On Christmas Eve, two people were injured in Manhattan’s Grand Central Station after a maniac went on a stabbing rampage.
Sources told DailyMail.com at the time that a 28-year-old man slashed two strangers with a knife in the seemingly random attack just after 10pm at the busy tourist hotspot.
And just days before, the Big Apple was stunned when a homeless woman was set on fire and burned to death while she slept on a subway car.
The victim was identified Tuesday by the NYPD as Debrina Kawam, a 61-year-old homeless woman from New Jersey.
Kawam’s murder captured international headlines as many were left shocked by the response of the NYPD.
An officer was seen walking past the victim while she was still ablaze, while the man who allegedly set her on fire – illegal immigrant Sebastian Zepeta – stood by fanning the flames with his jacket.
Zepeta, 33, is facing murder and arson charges following the horror incident.
Officials used fingerprint data, dental records and DNA evidence to identify Kawam, and said she was believed to have been homeless. She was originally from Tom’s River, New Jersey.
Kawam was reportedly sleeping on the subway car around 7:30am on December 22 at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn when she was set ablaze.
Shocked social media users blasted the police response – describing the behavior of cops caught on camera as ‘cowardly’ and ‘shameful’ while calling for them to be named or fired.
Despite widespread outrage at the cop failing to step in, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Titsch praised the police response to the heinous incident as ‘an example of great technology and even greater old fashioned police work’ during a press conference on Sunday night.
Condemnation of the response from officials was led on Tuesday by New York Congressman Ritchie Torres, who slammed fellow Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul.
The same day Kawam was identified, Hochul shared a tweet boasting of ‘dedicating our efforts to putting more money in your pockets and building an Empire State where everyone has an opportunity to succeed.’
Torres said in response: ‘On the same day the murder victim of the subway fire, Debrina Kawam (61) was finally identified, Governor Hochul feels the need to take a victory lap.
”Mission accomplished’ is the ultimate form of gaslighting.’