A 51-year-old MTA employee was “viciously” attacked in broad daylight by two women apparently attempting to jump the turnstile to avoid paying the subway fare in Brooklyn, according to police. Marshalee Reid, the victim, had recently undergone brain surgery.
Since she was still recovering from brain surgery she had last year, Reid was working on restricted duty on the mezzanine level of the New Lots Avenue subway station on the 3 line in East New York, according to the Transport Workers Union (TWU).
At around 1:15 p.m., Reid was helping an elderly individual go through the emergency gate when one of the alleged women attackers jumped over the turnstile. The TWU reported that a second quickly followed and slid through the open emergency escape.
As Reid attempted to explain that they had to pay the price, the two began to beat her, even taking out a set of keys and slicing her. According to the NYPD, they also repeatedly struck Reid in the face and other areas of her body.
As EMS arrived and took Reid to Brookdale Hospital Medical Center in stable condition, both suspects ran away. While MTA reps seek justice, the NYPD is now looking for help in locating the suspects.
“There are consequences for their crime. I want people to know that they have to stop assaulting city workers,” Reid said, according to the New York Post.
According to the NYPD, the first woman to leap the turnstile was a woman in her 25s or 30s with short black hair and a light complexion. She was last seen wearing a black t-shirt, multicolored shorts, and white shoes, based on surveillance footage from the attack.
The NYPD also described the second woman who slipped through the emergency door as being between 25 and 30 years old, with short orange hair and a pale complexion. She was wearing a pink shirt, blue trousers, and black sandals when she was last seen on camera recordings.
Reid echoed the vice president for stations, Robert Kelley, who wants the attackers to serve at least seven years in prison. Both expressed confidence that the NYPD will successfully find the women.
“They used to give out desk appearance tickets. Now these perpetrators are being arrested,” Kelley said.
Over ten attacks against transit workers have taken place between January and March of this year, according to MTA data, as reported by Spectrum News. That does not include an MTA train worker who was randomly cut in the face in the Bronx on June 10 or two MTA employees who were punched by attackers less than two hours apart in separate incidents in Queens and Brooklyn two days earlier.
According to NYPD data, there were 175 incidents of transportation crime this June, down from 187 in June 2024.
Meanwhile, Reid expressed her fear about returning to work.
“They also threaten me,” she told Spectrum News. “They said they’re going to make … someone come and kill me. So yes, I have fear. I don’t want to face these people again.”
