East Village Subway Shover Indicted for September Attack

A 28-year-old homeless man with 18 prior arrests was indicted recently and charged with being the alleged subway shover who hurled a 24-year-old off-duty NYPD officer onto the tracks at the Third Avenue L train station in the East Village in September.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. said alleged subway shover Aaron Walker was charged with one count each of Attempted Murder in the Second Degree, Attempted Assault in the First Degree, and Assault in the Second Degree.

“As alleged, Aaron Walker assaulted a complete stranger and shoved him onto the subway tracks in a callous and frightening attack,” said Bragg. “I am thankful this off-duty officer was returned to safety with the help of a Good Samaritan. All New Yorkers deserve to be safe in our subway system, and those who commit this type of horrific violence will be prosecuted.”

Walker, a homeless man, had 18 prior arrests, according to the New York Post, including a Sept. 13 subway assault in Brooklyn.

In that case, Walker is alleged to have sat next to a 22-year-old man—a total stranger—on the C train and began punching him in the head. Though the victim was hospitalized, Walker’s top charge was only third-degree assault–a misdemeanor that is not bail-eligible—and the judge cut him loose with “supervised release.”

Ten days later, Walker would attack again, but not before he was arrested on Sept. 17 for allegedly shoplifting from the Greenwich Street Target in Tribeca.

As alleged in court documents and statements made on the record, on Sept. 23, 2025, at approximately 7:30 p.m., the officer was walking on the L-train platform at the Third Avenue station, near East 14th Street. As the officer walked by, Walker, unprovoked, allegedly approached and punched him in the head. As the officer turned around, Walker allegedly grabbed him by his shirt and threw him onto the southbound L train tracks. As the officer attempted to pull himself up, he saw the lights of a train that was preparing to enter the station.

With the help of a Good Samaritan, the officer made it off the tracks before the train entered. The officer was eventually taken to a hospital to be treated for bruising and pain to his head, neck, and arm.

Walker allegedly fled the scene, running to the Union Square station through the subway tunnel. At the station, Walker allegedly changed out of his sweatpants and threw them onto the tracks. Officers stopped and arrested Walker as he attempted to board a northbound L train.

D.A. Bragg thanked the NYPD, particularly the 13th Precinct and the Transit Robbery Squad.

Department of Correction records describe Walker as Black male, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds. Walker is being held without bail on Rikers Island, and his next scheduled Manhattan court date is Dec. 11.