Woman accused of pushing tourists onto Manhattan subway tracks linked to similar crime

Editor's note: The above video originally aired on Aug. 5, 2024.

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) --- The emotionally disturbed woman accused of pushing two tourists onto the subway tracks in Manhattan this week is a suspect in a similar crime in Brooklyn, authorities said Friday.

Ebony Butts, 42, was arraigned Thursday on assault charges after allegedly shoving two Mexican tourists onto the tracks in the Delancey Street-Essex Street subway station on the Lower East Side at around 2:15 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

"This case is every New Yorker's nightmare and easily could have been a double homicide," prosecutors said in court.

The tourists were standing on the F line platform when Butts allegedly shoved one woman and pushed the other one as she helped her friend off the tracks, cops said. The two 28-year-old women suffered minor injuries.

A good Samaritan helped pull the tourists onto the platform before a train arrived while passengers and officers detained Butts at the scene, officials said.

"Had a train come into the station sooner or had the two women not received help from another rider, this would be an even graver case," prosecutors said in court records.

Butts appeared to have serious mental health issues and was taken to Bellevue after the incident, according to MTA CEO Janno Lieber.

Authorities said Butts is a suspect in another subway shoving in Brooklyn, but the details of the incident were not immediately available. The defendant has nine prior arrests, including a 2016 incident where she allegedly punched a 38-year-old woman in the face in Brooklyn, according to the NYPD.

Butts pleaded not guilty and was held without bail during the arraignment, according to court records. She is due back in court on Friday. Her attorney could not immediately be reached.

Police said major subway crimes have dropped to a 15-year low this year, absent the pandemic years. Transit crime has decreased by about 20% this July compared to July 2023, according to the NYPD.

There continues to be a drop in subway incidents from the beginning of the year, police said.