A 38-year-old man who allegedly sat on a woman’s thigh—then accused her of going on a “Kanye West” rant before assaulting her after she had the gall to ask him to move—was arrested by New York City police officers this past weekend.
According to the New York Daily News, the man was apprehended thanks to a photo the victim took of him prior to the alleged assault.
The altercation happened on the E subway train during the evening rush hour Sept. 12. According to Gothamist, the NYPD says that Abel Adames “encroached” on the victim when he sat down next to her, which, if you’ve ridden the New York subway, especially during rush hour, has happened to all of us.
But according to the NYPD, Adames, a Manhattan resident, got really brand-new when the victim, a 34-year-old black woman, asked him to move for a moment so she could “readjust herself.”
From Gothamist:
A police source confirmed that during the argument, the suspect yelled, “Just because you’re African American, you think you can go on your Kanye West rant, you black [bitch].”
When she got up to leave the train, Adames allegedly spit at the back of her head. According to the Daily News, the victim “grabbed his backpack to try to stop him, and he spit in her face and punched her in the shoulder” before then jumping back onto the train.
As if riding the train weren’t enough of a joy, according to NYPD data reported by the New York Post, felony assaults on subway cars were up earlier this year compared with the previous year. In general, violence reported on subway cars has been increasing since 2014.