Sister of man murdered on Q train says brother took subway because rideshare was too expensive
NEW YORK -- The sister of the man murdered on a subway train over the weekend was overcome by grief and fear on Monday.
As CBS2's Ali Bauman reported, Griselda Vile said her brother wasn't even supposed to be on the train.
Daniel Enriquez, 48, was on his way to brunch when he was killed on a Q train Sunday. Enriquez's sister said the subway was not his first choice, but a ride share was just too expensive.
"He shouldn't be dead," Vile said.
According to police, the subway was crossing the Manhattan Bridge when another passenger began pacing, then suddenly pulled out a gun and shot Enriquez point blank.
The gunman ran once the train pulled in the Canal Street station. Police have released images of a person of interest they're searching for.
"This was a preventable death. You should feel safe to take the train at 11:40 in the morning on Sunday," Vile said.
Enriquez worked in the research department at Goldman Sachs. He lived in Park Slope with his partner of 18 years and was a doting uncle.
Vile said her brother opted for the subway because an Uber was too expensive. Uber has not responded to our request for comment.
"This is negligence on Uber and this should be public. Enough with surge hikes," Vile said. "You know, New Yorkers don't feel safe taking the train. We don't even feel safe in our neighborhood."
Shootings in the subway system are up 500 percent compared to this time last year and, despite the mass subway shooting in Sunset Park in April, ridership has been increasing. The system saw 61 percent of its pre-pandemic ridership last week.
"It's an incredible setback for everybody's effort to put New York back on normal footing," MTA head Janno Lieber said.
Monday, Mayor Eric Adams vowed to reassess the steps he's already taken to put more cops along the rails as he made a point to publicly ride the train to City Hall.
"I'm not gonna tell New Yorkers to do something that I'm not going to do," Adams said.
Vile said despite her brother's death, she has not choice but to continue commuting on the subway. She's asking the mayor, police and MTA to make sure her brother did not die in vain.
"Let's really address what are causing these social ills, these attacks, these incidents and address it head on," Vile said.
Police sources told CBS2 the suspect, after arriving at the station, handed his gun to a homeless man, who then sold it to someone else. Investigators have recovered the weapon and are testing it for DNA evidence.
