Brandon Harris will be sentenced to 15 years prison time after pleading guilty to the attempted murder of an elderly woman in 2024. Eagle file photo by Walter Karling
By Noah Powelson
A Flushing man will spend 15 years behind bars after he admitted in court that he attempted to kill an 82-year-old woman in 2024, though his motive still remains unknown.
Brandon Harris, 37, pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge on Monday, confessing he pushed an 82-year-old woman onto the subway tracks at the Main Street 7 line train station in October 2024.
During his plea, Harris waived his right to appeal and admitted the attack on the elderly woman, whom he had no prior relation or interaction with, was meant to end her life.
“Yes, I attempted to kill her,” Harris said in Queens Criminal Court on Monday.
Queens Supreme Court Justice Toni Cimino ordered Harris back to court on March 25 for an official sentencing, but said he would be incarcerated for 15 years as part of the plea deal. Until then, he will remain on Rikers Island, and was warned he could still face a harsher sentence if he was rearrested by Rikers officers in the weeks leading up to his sentencing.
The Queen’s district attorney’s office said they recommended 18 years imprisonment, but Cimino elected to go with a slightly reduced sentence.
According to court documents and reporting at the time, Harris was arrested for an incident that occurred just before noon on Oct. 2, 2024. As the 82-year-old woman exited the 7 train at the Main Street station, Harris approached her from behind and pushed her against a subway car while it sat idle in the station.
The woman hit her head against the side of the train as she fell in between two cars, landing on the tracks below. Police from the 109th Precinct in Flushing and Transit District 20 responded to a 911 call, and arrived to find the woman still laying on the tracks.
“The defendant pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the second degree for shoving an 82-year-old woman onto the subway tracks at the Main Street-Flushing 7 train station in October 2024,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement. “The victim suffered life-threatening injuries, requiring treatment for injuries to the back of her head and surgery to repair two fractured vertebrae. It is a miracle she survived. The safety of straphangers who rely on our mass transit system is not optional — it is essential. My office will continue to aggressively prosecute those who endanger our transit riders.”
The woman was helped off the tracks by responding medics, and rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Queens Hospital. She suffered some head injuries but was stabilized and managed to recover.
Harris lived directly across the street from the station where the attack took place, and was arrested on Oct. 7th, 2024.
Investigators at the time of the attack said Harris and the victim did not know each other, and there was no clear motive for the attack.
Nearly two years later, and the crime and victim still appear to be arbitrarily chosen.
This wasn’t Harris’ first trouble with the law, he had four prior arrests including a misdemeanor assault, burglary and public indecency; and he had previously served two years prison time after a robbery conviction.
