New York City police have arrested and charged a suspect in connection with a brutal and fatal attack at a Downtown Brooklyn subway station, sending shockwaves through the community and highlighting concerns about public safety on the city’s transit system.
Authorities identified the suspect as 25-year-old David Mazariegos. He faces two counts of murder, along with charges of robbery and grand larceny. Police say the attack occurred late Tuesday afternoon and was both vicious and unprovoked.
According to law enforcement sources, Mazariegos allegedly punched, kicked, and stomped on 64-year-old Nicola Tanzi, who suffered a fractured skull and was taken to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in critical condition before being pronounced dead.
Investigators revealed that Mazariegos admitted to detectives that he attacked Tanzi because he disliked the way the victim looked at him. This incident comes as part of a troubling pattern of criminal behavior: Mazariegos reportedly has 17 prior arrests, including for assault earlier this year, petit larceny, and graffiti offenses.
Mazariegos was apprehended around 10 p.m. Tuesday in Times Square by NYPD officers assigned to subway duty. At the time of his arrest, he was sitting on the sidewalk with a katana sword, reportedly with a blade over 20 inches long, resting in his lap.
Police also recovered four of the Brooklyn subway attack victim’s credit cards from his possession. One of the cards had allegedly just been used to make a purchase at a Target store on West 42nd Street.
Initially, Mazariegos was taken into custody for petit larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. However, he was immediately returned to custody in connection with Tanzi’s murder and is expected to be arraigned on Thursday.
Detectives are also reviewing potential links between this attack and the death of a worker who confronted a shoplifter at a Morton Williams in Hell’s Kitchen last month.
Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch praised the department’s domain awareness system, which allowed officers to receive photos of the suspect on their phones, contributing to his swift arrest.
According to investigators, the deadly encounter unfolded when Mazariegos was attempting to pull on the exit gate at the Jay Street-MetroTech station around 3 p.m. Tanzi, believed to be a security guard, approached the suspect, leading to a verbal exchange.
Video from MTA security cameras reportedly shows Mazariegos striking Tanzi, knocking him to the ground, then continuing to punch, kick, and stomp his head approximately 15 times. The suspect was then seen boarding a Bronx-bound No. 2 train.
In the aftermath, candles were placed at the scene in memory of Tanzi, who was remembered by friends and colleagues as a kind and thoughtful man. Authorities noted that this was the fourth homicide in the subway system this year, a decrease from eight at the same point last year.
Transit crime overall has declined 4.3% in 2025, with serious crime in September down 31% compared to the same month in 2024. Despite the positive trends, Tanzi’s death has raised concerns over subway safety, particularly as New Yorkers navigate increasingly crowded stations and trains.
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