A Brooklyn man on Friday was sentenced to 10 years in prison following his guilty plea to attempted murder for opening fire inside a crowded subway car during the evening rush hour.
The defendant, identified as Alexander Villafana, 22, of Cypress Hills, by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, was on the C train on November 28, 2023 at approximately 5:35pm.
As the northbound C train approached the Ralph Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Villafana got into a verbal altercation with a 17-year-old boy. The dispute escalated, and the defendant pulled out a gun and fired several shots, one of which struck the teen in the hand. As a 52-year-old passenger fled to an adjacent train car, he was struck in the ankle. A 9mm shell casing and fired bullets were recovered from the subway car, Gonzalez said.
Following the shooting, the defendant fled to Pennsylvania and changed his appearance, but was later apprehended him at his home in Brooklyn by the Regional Fugitive Task Force.
“This was a terrifying act of gun violence that endangered dozens of commuters and left two people injured," Gonzalez said in a statement. "Firing multiple shots on a packed train showed a blatant disregard for human life, and this sentence holds the defendant accountable for his actions. We remain committed to ensuring public safety and delivering justice for victims.”
