Soul Searching In New York, Amsterdam Subway Attacks
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW YORK/AMSTERDAM (Worthy News) – The U.S. city of New York and the Dutch capital of Amsterdam were united Friday in dealing with the aftermaths of violence in their railway stations.
In New York, Ex-Marine Daniel Penny, who placed a fellow passenger in a chokehold on a New York subway, surrendered to police on Friday.
Penny, 24, was accused of causing Jordan Neely’s death on May 1 and charged with manslaughter.
Neely, 30, who was homeless and asking fellow passengers for money, was pinned to the ground and restrained for several minutes, dramatic footage showed.
The video caused protests across New York City over how homeless people are treated.
In Amsterdam, Dutch police were still searching for perpetrators after detaining nine minors aged 12 to 16 for attempted manslaughter” a week ago Friday at the capital’s large Bijlmer Arena regular train and subway station.
A white man was kicked and beaten by a large group and pushed onto the track, video footage showed. The injured man was helped to reach the platform just before the next train arrived, witnesses said.
The violence broke out after he allegedly kissed a boy without permission. Charges were filed against the victim for “assault,” but police were still searching for him on Friday. He reportedly spoke some English with an Italian accent.
Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema called the attack another “horrible incident of violence.”
But legislator Gideon van Meijeren of the right-wing eurosceptic Forum for Democracy (FvD) party was interrupted by the Dutch Parliament’s chairwoman when linking the violence to migrants and calling them “negroïde primates.”
While thousands of kilometers (miles) apart, the two incidents further raised the alarm in New York and Amsterdam about the perceived deteriorating safety of passengers and growing violence.
Both cities also have long historical ties.
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