Video shows good Samaritans stop assault on Brooklyn subway platform

CBS News

2 days ago

Police say bystanders came to a 20-year-old woman's rescue after she was assaulted on a subway platform in Brooklyn.
The incident was caught on video and has since gotten millions of views on TikTok.
"I've never seen nothing like that in my life"
It happened on a J train platform at the Norwood Avenue station Sunday morning.
Witness Rondel Whitfield was on his way to church when he says he saw a woman screaming as a man grabbed her.
"I had no other choice but to interfere to see what the situation was," Whitfield said.
Video shows witnesses yelling at the man to let her go.
"I said, 'Brother please, just let the lady go. You know what I'm saying? Let the lady go.' He's like no. He just started being real barbaric. Like, I've never seen nothing like that in my life," Whitfield said.
Police say the woman managed to escape the man's grip as at least five people, including Whitfield, held him down.
The good Samaritans stayed with the man, who police identify as 42-year-old Fredrick Marshall, of Queens. He has been charged with two counts of third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree assault and second-degree harassment.
"You can't just watch and do nothing"
The woman's mother, who doesn't want to be identified, was able to rush over and says Marshall didn't resist officers when he was later arrested.
"She was just saying, 'Mom, he's trying to take me, he's trying to take me,' and I'm like trying to run to her as fast as I can, but when I got to the train station, the MTA clerk had her in the booth, safe," the mother said.
The witness who took the video, which now has at least 5 million views on TikTok, told CBS News New York in Spanish, "There are still people with a good heart who help those in need. You can't just watch and do nothing. It could have been my sister, my mother."
Police say the 20-year-old victim complained of shoulder pain and suffered minor injuries to her stomach and arms. Her mom says she's traumatized, but that she's since been able to go to work. For now, she expresses her gratitude.
"I'm very, very, grateful for those that were there helping my daughter. I am so, so, so, so grateful 'cause if it wasn't for you guys, I wouldn't have my child today," the mother said.