New York police are on the hunt for a group of people who stole a subway train in Brooklyn, drove it at high speed, and posted their crime on Instagram before disappearing into the night.
VIDEO
The NYPD says the six suspects, mostly dressed in black hoodies, broke into an R train that was parked near the 36th Street station in Sunset Park on Saturday, January 25. Before taking off, they damaged security cameras by shattering their glass panels and then gained access to the train’s operator controls.
While authorities haven’t confirmed how far the stolen train traveled, videos shared on Instagram show the train speeding through tunnels at an alarming pace. Despite the reckless stunt, the group managed to return the train to its original location before fleeing undetected.
The unauthorized ride wasn’t discovered until the following day, when the train made a scheduled run to Forest Hills, Queens. It wasn’t until the train operator noticed a vandalized cab door and security camera that officials realized something was wrong. The train was then taken out of service for investigation.
Police are now searching for the six suspects, who are wanted on reckless endangerment charges. It’s still unclear how they managed to access the cab, but the incident has sparked concerns over MTA security.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber called the security breach a “failure”, adding that such incidents are “not acceptable.” He also suggested that new train models should replace traditional locks with biometric sensors to prevent future intrusions.
The MTA has plans to purchase hundreds of new railcars over the next five years to replace some of the oldest trains in the system, many of which date back to the 1970s and 80s.
