NY AG Challenger Blames Letitia James for Subway 'Chaos' After Fatal Shooting

State Attorney General Letitia James' Republican challenger, Saritha Komatireddy, on Sunday accused James of allowing "chaos in the subways" to proliferate, citing a fatal shooting at a crowded Midtown station that occurred the previous day. Komatireddy made her remarks at the Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street station, the scene of Saturday's violence.

"This is why so many families, hard-working New Yorkers and even tourists don't feel safe coming into New York and using the subways," Komatireddy stated. She asserted that under James' tenure, felony assaults in the transit system have increased by 94%. "That means they've doubled," Komatireddy added.

Komatireddy argued that James has prioritized investigating police officers who patrol the subways over prosecuting criminals. "She actually calls that progress. I call it failure. It's not progress, it's failure and we need to treat it as such," Komatireddy said. "The reality is right now in New York subways, we have chaos in the trains."

The shooting occurred around 12:20 p.m. on Saturday when the victim reportedly got into an argument with the gunman, according to police. The shooter then fired, striking the unidentified victim and fleeing the station, leaving the man mortally wounded on the northbound platform, authorities said.

Law-enforcement sources indicated to The Post that the shooting was a targeted attack, though further details have not been released.

Komatireddy contended that James has been too passive regarding transit crime and has instead focused on investigating the NYPD, referencing a 2021 lawsuit alleging excessive force during Black Lives Matter protests. "As attorney general, I will launch a sweeping transit-crime crackdown," Komatireddy declared. "We will start a transit-crime strike force in the attorney general's office. We will ensure that the transit crimes are enforced. And we will remove repeat and violent offenders from the trains and buses."

James' office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

While overall major crime in New York City has seen a significant decrease, statistics released earlier in October showed an uptick in subway murders from January to mid-October. Overall subway crimes, including assaults and thefts, saw a slight increase of 0.9% to 1,628 reported incidents through October 6 of the current year, compared to 1,613 during the same period last year. As of October 11, according to the latest NYPD data, murders citywide were down nearly 20% over the previous year, but overall transit crime had increased by 1.6% compared to the same timeframe.