Self-defense: NYC subway rider who shot assailant with his own gun won’t face charges

by WorldTribune Staff / 247 Real News March 17, 2024

A New York City subway rider who disarmed his assailant and shot him in the head with his own gun on Thursday won’t face any charges, the Brooklyn district attorney’s office has announced.

Dajuan Robinson, left, and Younece Obuad

“The investigation into this tragic incident is ongoing,” said DA spokesman Oren Yaniv on Friday, “but, at this stage, evidence of self-defense precludes us from filing any criminal charges against the shooter.”

The incident on Thursday, captured on cell phone video, shows 36-year-old Dajuan Robinson standing and hovering menacingly over seated 32-year-old Younece Obuad, and issuing a stream of threats and racial hatred that spanned minutes.

“You think you’re gonna beat up cops?” Robinson says repeatedly. As the New York Post notes, a woman in the video can be heard saying, “He thinks you’re a migrant, he thinks you’re an immigrant,” likely referring to the incident in which a migrant mob attacked two cops in Times Square in January.

Eventually, Obuad stands up and takes a fighting stance as passengers start moving to another section of the moving subway car. He and Robinson trade blows, before the larger Robinson pins up to a seat. At that point, an unidentified woman appears to stab Robinson in the back…as blood can be seen starting to drench his shirt after she struck his lower back and withdrew.

After another man breaks the two up and Obuad stands nearby, Robinson yells at him and the female intervener, says “I got you,” and retrieves a gun from his jacket. That sends the passengers scurrying to the other end of the car. As the train reaches a station, a single shot rings out. After a brief pause, three more shots are heard.

Police say Obuad disarmed Robinson of his .38-caliber Ruger and shot him in the head. Robinson is hospitalized in critical but stable condition, having received two stabs to the lower back and shots to the side of his neck, his right temple, and the side of his chest. His eye was ruptured by the temple shot.

Police say the two didn’t know each other.

A review of subway system video shows Robinson entered the station without paying. “If you want to keep the system safe, the first thing you have to do is keep bad people out of the system who don’t pay — this is a perfect example to talk about it,’’ NYPD Deputy Inspector Tarik Sheppard said Friday.

Earlier this month, New York Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that 1,000 National Guard troops would be deployed to the New York City subway system. They’ve been used to check bags for weapons, an endeavor that did nothing to prevent Thursday’s violence.

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