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Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday praised the MTA workers who responded to the harrowing mass shooting at a Brooklyn subway station earlier this month, awarding commemorative plaques to 18 employees she called “our heroes.”
“You showed true grit and courage like only New Yorkers can,” the governor told the workers during a ceremony at MTA HQ.
“The images that you saw and experienced, I’m sure are seared in your minds. No one ever expects to see blood stained platforms there, people on the ground with wounds.”
“I can’t tell you what that means to be the governor of a state with workers like you, who just make us all shine.”
The honored workers, whose titles ranged from train conductor to digital communications, had responded to the April 12 carnage at the 36th Street station in Sunset Park, where suspect Frank James, 62, allegedly shot 10 people on a packed rush-hour train.
Speaking to reporters after Hochul’s presentation, the workers said they did the best they could during the unfathomable situation.
“No amount of training can prepare you for an incident like that. You really just have to do your job to the best of your ability and hope that your quick thinking and basic common sense would help you get people to safety,” said conductor Raven Haynes, who was part of the two-person crew on the N train where the shooting occurred.
Haynes said she was particularly moved by the heroics of Army veteran Thomas Fischer, who assisted with first aid on the platform before first responders arrived.
“The most amazing helpful image that will stick to my mind was the retired military personnel to help tie off someone’s leg,” she said.
Line Superintendent Mark Wolodarsky said he was in his office at the nearby 36th Street yard at the time of the shooting and rushed down to the subway.
“I felt something was wrong. I went into the tower and I was told that there was an explosion on the train and passengers falling onto the platform,” he said.
“When we got into the station we we didn’t know what was happening. I only became aware of the severity when I saw people being carried out and the amount of blood on the platform.”
Asked whether he has regrets about how he responded to the situation, N train operator David Artis said “no.”
“I did everything I was supposed to,” he said. “No one was killed. Everybody survived.”
Source: NYPOST
