Heartbroken mother of mentally ill naked man, 35, who pushed a passenger onto Manhattan subway tracks before being electrocuted says her son stopped getting his medication due to COVID pandemic
The heartbroken mother of a mentally ill man who pushed a passenger onto the subway tracks in New York City has revealed that her son wasn't getting his medication due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Malik Jackson, 35, was captured on video shoving and hitting an unidentified New Yorker and good Samaritan, Tyler Horrell, at the 2 and 3 train station at 110th Street and Central Park North just before 4pm on Saturday.
Moments after launching the attack, Jackson fell onto the electric third rail and died at the scene after being electrocuted.
It has since been revealed that Jackson suffered from schizophrenia. His grieving mother, Ethel Trammell, told the New York Daily News that Jackson was diagnosed with the disorder at the age of 17.
Trammell said her son was a kind person when he took his prescribed medication, but he hadn't be able to get it due to the pandemic.
'He has a mental disability and that's the issue. My son is not like that, but because he hasn't had medication in a long time, that's probably why he was acting like that,' she said.
Ethel Trammell (left), the heartbroken mother of a mentally ill man who pushed a passenger onto the subway tracks in New York City has revealed that her son, Malik Jackson (right), wasn't getting his medication due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Trammell said her son (left and right) was a kind person when he took his prescribed medication, but he hadn't be able to get it due to the pandemic. 'He has a mental disability and that's the issue. My son is not like that,' she said
'My son would never hurt nobody,' Trammell said of her son (pictured with his two nieces)
'My son would never hurt nobody,' Trammell added.
His mother told the Daily News that Jackson lived at the Cambridge Hotel, a homeless shelter on West 110th Street.
While there he would normally receive outpatient services and a periodic injection, but due to COVID-19 'he just wasn't going like he should', his mother said.
'Now, with COVID, it's different, and somebody with a mental illness doesn't believe they have a mental illness,' Trammell said.
Trammell told the Daily News that before the pandemic her son would receive regular visits from a nurse or mental health professionals to make sure he was taking his medications.
'He was a good guy with a big heart, and the video, and what happened in that subway is not how my son is,' she said.
'Without the medication, he just wasn’t stable. I feel really bad about the person, because that had to be really frightening for him too,' Trammell added.
Trammell, who last spoke to her son on January 4, told the Daily News: 'I’ve never seen my son like that, ever. My son was a good son.'
On Saturday, Jackson was completely naked when he was captured on video wandering around the train station.
Witnessed told the Daily News that Jackson had been going up to people in the station and dancing near them.
The heartbroken mother of a mentally ill man who pushed a passenger onto the subway tracks in New York City has revealed that her son, Malik Jackson, wasn't getting his medication due to the COVID-19 pandemic
A good Samaritan (left and right) was seen jumping onto the tracks to help the victim before Jackson started attacking him. During their scuffle the man is seen falling onto the third rail (right)
A witness said the man went up to another New Yorker who 'felt disrespected, so he squared up like he was going to fight the naked man'.
That's when the alleged attacker started pummeling the victim before shoving him off the platform.
Good Samaritan, Tyler Horrell, who witnessed the incident then jumped onto the platform to help the victim.
That's when the alleged attacker also jumped off the platform and onto the track bed and began hitting Horrell.
Video of the incident shows a No. 3 train halt just in time as the two men threw punches.
During the scuffle on the tracks, Jackson's shoulder made contact with the third rail.
A witness told the Daily News that Horrell had punched Jackson, causing him to fall onto the rail.
'It was a heavy punch,' the witness said. 'That's when the naked man fell.'
The third rail holds 625 volts of electricity and is enough to kill a person instantly.
Jackson was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. Horrell and the victim were taken to a local hospital where they were treated for minor injuries. New York City police said no one was charged in the incident.
During the scuffle on the tracks, the naked man made contact with the third rail and electrocuted himself. First responders are seen wheeling his body out of the train station
The third rail carries 625 volts of electricity, which is enough to instantly kill anyone. He was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later. First responders are seen putting the man's body in the back of an ambulance
New York City police said no one was charged in the incident. Authorities are seen cordoning off the entrance to the train station on Saturday
On Sunday, Horrell was identified by the New York Post as the 55-year-old good Samaritan who helped save the victim.
Horrell explained that he could see the victim on the track but 'didn't think the train was going to be able to stop'.
'I jumped down and tried to pick him up,' he said. 'In the course of trying to pick him up, the naked guy appeared, squatting on the platform, looking at me. I said, 'Go on, man. Get out of here!' I didn't expect him to jump at me.'
Horrell told the Post that the attacker 'didn't say anything'.
'He just tried to swing at me. I took a swing at him. He was on drugs or something. There's a lot of drug use down in that subway,' Horrell said.
'When he leaped at me, we both went to the ground,' Horrell said. 'He didn't even make a sound when he hit the rail. He didn't make a sound the whole time.'
Horrell said that he thinks he had seen the attacker 'numerous times walking along the double yellow lines in the middle of 110th Street'.
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