In a tragic incident on Thursday night in Manhattan, 32-year-old Rhamell Burke reportedly shoved an elderly man down a flight of stairs, resulting in the man’s death. According to the New York Post, this event occurred shortly after Burke was discharged from a psychiatric facility.
Authorities detained Burke earlier that afternoon, taking him to Bellevue Hospital. A source from the New York Police Department informed Fox News Digital about the situation.
Burke was categorized as an “emotionally disturbed person” during this encounter, as reported by the Post.
However, he was released just over an hour later. Tragically, within five hours of his release, Burke allegedly pushed 76-year-old retired teacher Ross Falzone down a subway staircase in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, leading to Falzone’s death, as confirmed by an NYPD source to Fox News Digital.
Police revealed to the Post that Burke had been displaying erratic behavior outside a police station when he was apprehended. Allegedly, he was brandishing a stick taken from a trash can.
The incident involves Burke, who is accused of fatally pushing Ross Falzone, aged 76, following his release from Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric ward just hours earlier. (WNYW)
“We brought him in at 3:30 p.m. and he was released just before 5 p.m. Meanwhile, if you or I walked into Bellevue for a headache, it would take 8 hours just to be seen. NYPD uses its involuntary removal powers all the time. And they just get right out with an Advil,” one high-ranking NYPD officer reportedly told the Post.
Officers reportedly found Falzone unconscious and unresponsive and rushed him to Bellevue where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities said he had suffered a traumatic brain injury, right rib fracture and spinal fracture, according to the Post.
“He’s just a helpless old guy. What a cowardly and idiotic thing to do,” Falzone’s neighbor Marc Stager told the Post.
When officers arrested Burke on Thursday, it was his fifth arrest of 2026. He had been picked up for alleged robbery, resisting arrest and allegedly assaulting a Port Authority police officer in February and was also arrested on charges of allegedly assaulting a stranger in April, according to the Post.
Rhamell Burke, 32, is seen being escorted by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers after allegedly fatally shoving 76-year-old Ross Falzone down a flight of subway stairs. (WNYW)
“There’s no amount of anger that we can express, and shock,” Falzone’s sister, Donna, told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “I mean, to get a call like that at 4 in the morning, you know, just, you know, to find out your brother’s minding his own business, three witnesses, and push down the steps and left for dead.”
Donna also revealed that her brother was a retired special education teacher with a doctorate from Columbia University.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a city probe into Bellevue’s handling of Burke’s psychiatric evaluation in the wake of the killing.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a May Day rally at Washington Square Park in New York City on May 1, 2026. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
“I am horrified by the killing of Ross Falzone and the circumstances that led to it. I extend my condolences to his loved ones,” Mamdani said in a statement.
“New Yorkers deserve answers. That is why I’ve directed NYC Health + Hospitals to conduct both an immediate investigation on what steps should have been taken to prevent this tragedy and a comprehensive review of their psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols,” he said.
Fox News Digital contacted the NYPD, the mayor’s office and Bellevue Hospital for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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