Today in History: On this day in 1984 a few teenagers accosted Bernhard Goetz on a New York City subway. Moments later, Bernhard Goetz pulled out his Smith & Wesson revolver and shot the four young men, in an incident that came to be known worldwide as the "1984 New York City Subway Shooting."
"During the early 1980s, New York City experienced unprecedented rates of crime. Murders during the decade averaged almost 2,000 a year and, in the city's increasingly dangerous subway system, thirty-eight crimes a day, on average, were reported. Citizens did not feel safe. It is not surprising, therefore, when the city's newspapers ran stories on the December 22 shooting on the IRT express, the shooter was widely praised for his actions: 'Finally,' many a New Yorker said, 'someone has had the courage to stand up to these thugs...'" ~Professor Douglas O. Linder
Goetz (the subway vigilante) became a household name, and is even referenced in Billy Joel's 1989 single "We Didn't Start the Fire", in Lou Reed's song "Hold On" from his 1989 album New York, and on "Stop the Train" from the 1989 Beastie Boys album Paul's Boutique. The 1993 film Falling Down was partly inspired by the shooting.
In 2001 Goetz even ran for mayor of New York.
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