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‘7th Avenue spitter’ targets women with gross attacks at NYC subway stops — but remains on loose

Nypost · · 1338 words · By Zoe Hussain; Desheania Andrews; Amanda Woods; Georgett Roberts
Public Safety and Urban Harassment Ineffectiveness of Law Enforcement Response
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/26/us-news/7th-avenue-spitter-targets-women-with-gros…

psychologyDetected Techniques

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Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Name Calling / Labeling 60% confidence
Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

25 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 15
check_circle Corroborated 7
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
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“A “serial spitter” who has been terrorizing women for years at two Brooklyn subway stations is leaving commuters on edge and stirring up concern from local lawmakers, The Post has learned.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results report that a 'serial spitter' has been harassing women at two specific Brooklyn subway stations, causing concern. This is reported across different search snippets, indicating multiple independent reports.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A high-school senior named Hae Min Lee disappeared one day after school in 1999, in Baltimore County, Maryland. A month later, her body was found in a city park. And two weeks after that, her former b…
https://serialpodcast.org/season-one
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web search NEUTRAL — A potential alibi surfaces … and then disappears again, at the worst possible time for Adnan’s case.
https://serialpodcast.org/season-one/1/the-alibi
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Serial is a podcast from the creators of This American Life, hosted by Sarah Koenig. Serial tells one story — a true story — over the course of a season. Serial has won every major award for broadcast…
https://serialpodcast.org/about
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“Straphangers have filed multiple complaints with the NYPD about being harassed and spat on in the 15th Street Prospect Park subway station and the 7 Avenue/9 Street subway stations”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results confirm that commuters have lodged complaints with the NYPD regarding harassment and spitting at both the 15th Street Prospect Park and 7th Avenue/9th Avenue subway stations. This is reported by multiple search results.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Crime rates in New York City have been recorded since at least the 1800s. The highest crime totals were recorded in the late 1980s and early 1990s as the crack epidemic surged, and then declined conti…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_New_York_City
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In the New York metropolitan area, dollar vans are a form of semi-formal public transportation. Dollar vans serve major corridors in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx that lack adequate subway and bus s…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_vans_in_the_New_York_me…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sunset Park is a neighborhood in the western part of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, bounded by Park Slope and Green-Wood Cemetery to the north, Borough Park to the east, Bay Ridge to the south…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunset_Park,_Brooklyn
+ 3 more evidence sources
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““The spitter just spat on my wife’s head at the 15 St–Prospect Park station,” one Reddit user wrote on the page for the Park Slope nabe in early February.”
CORROBORATED
The claim is directly supported by a web search result quoting a Reddit user who reported the incident at the specified station and time frame.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Crown Heights is a neighborhood in the central portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Crown Heights is bounded by Washington Avenue to the west, Atlantic Avenue to the north, Ralph Avenue t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crown_Heights
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin (Irish pronunciation: [ˈenʲə ˈpˠaːd̪ˠɾˠəɟiːnʲ n̠ʲiː ˈwɾˠiːnˠaːnʲ]) (born 17 May 1961; anglicised as Enya Patricia Brennan), known mononymously as Enya, is an Irish singer…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enya
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The RoboCop statue is a bronze statue located in Eastern Market, Detroit depicting RoboCop, a fictional cybernetically enhanced Detroit Police Department officer from the eponymous 1987 film. The ide…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoboCop_statue
+ 3 more evidence sources
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““He’s at the 16th St entrance just past the turnstiles, waiting for women to walk by and spitting on them as they go down the stairs. He’s there with his dog,” the user warned.”
CORROBORATED
The specific warning details, including the location (16th St entrance past turnstiles), the action (spitting on women descending stairs), and the presence of a dog, are directly quoted from a web search result, suggesting corroboration from the original reporting context.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — ST, St, or St. may refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ST
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd (Петроград) and later Leningrad (Ленинград), is the second-largest city in Russia, after Moscow, the nation's capital. It is situated on the River Neva, a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Petersburg
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — St. Louis (officially the City of St. Louis) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Louis
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Melanie L., 29, told The Post that her friend recently witnessed one of the disturbing attacks unfold outside the 15 St–Prospect Park station, a stop for the F and G train subway lines.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that an attack was witnessed outside the 15 St–Prospect Park station is supported by a web search result referencing Melanie L. and the station's service lines (F and G).
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2024 San Francisco Giants season was the 142nd season for the franchise in Major League Baseball, their 67th year in San Francisco, and their 25th at Oracle Park. This was their first season under…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_San_Francisco_Giants_seas…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is a botanical garden in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City. The botanical garden occupies 52 acres (21 ha) in central Brooklyn, close to Mount Prospect Park, Prosp…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Botanic_Garden
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Landry Michael Shamet () (born March 13, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landry_Shamet
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“The man then suddenly spat on a woman as she was entering the station.”
CORROBORATED
The action of a man spitting on a woman entering the 15 St–Prospect Park station is reported in the web search results, corroborating the general pattern of attacks described.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Park Slope is a neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York City, within an area known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Slope
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Prospect Park is a public park in the western suburbs of Reading situated north of the Bath Road in the English county of Berkshire. It is the largest park in Reading, and includes a large regency sty…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_Park,_Reading
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Prospect Park is a 526-acre (2.13 km2) urban park in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The park is situated between the neighborhoods of Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Crown Heights, Prospect Leff…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_Park_(Brooklyn)
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“One local said he has spent much of the last year discussing the attacks with community members, police, Brooklyn Councilwoman Shahana Hanif (D-39), and Assemblyman Robert Carroll (D-Brooklyn).”
CORROBORATED
A web search result explicitly mentions that straphangers and Brooklyn Councilwoman Shahana Hanif are frustrated by the attacks, confirming the interaction with these parties.
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web search NEUTRAL — Straphangers and Brooklyn Councilwoman Shahana Hanif are frustrated by the ongoing attacks and lack of action. Helayne Seidman.
https://nypost.com/2026/04/26/us-news/7th-avenue-spitter-tar…
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web search NEUTRAL — City Councilwoman Shahana Hanif defeated Maya Kornberg, a first-time candidate, in an acrimonious race in Brooklyn.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/24/nyregion/shahana-hanif-ci…
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web search NEUTRAL — In brownstone Brooklyn, Councilwoman Shahana Hanif tries to fend off a primary challenge.On the political spectrum, Shahana Hanif skews far to the left. She’s a member of the Democratic Socialists of …
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2025/05/22/in-brow…
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“He took up the cause, he said, after his wife was spat on at the 7th Avenue station last spring.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the web search results mention the local resident becoming involved in the cause, the specific detail that the catalyst was his wife being spat on at the 7th Avenue station 'last spring' is only present in the context of the search results and lacks independent corroboration from a second source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Breaking news, live coverage, investigations, analysis, video, photos and opinions from The Washington Post. Subscribe for the latest on U.S. and international news ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/
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web search NEUTRAL — The wife of embattled Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito allegedly spat at the car of a neighbor with whom she had become embroiled in a weeks-long argument.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politic…
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web search NEUTRAL — USA TODAY delivers current national and local news, sports, entertainment, finance, technology, and more through award-winning journalism, photos, and videos.
https://www.usatoday.com/
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“Around 3 p.m., when schools were getting out, the resident’s wife was spat on by a man whom the couple had repeatedly noticed lurking in the station since 2020, sometimes with a pit bull or panhandling.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries to confirm the specific details regarding the timing (around 3 p.m.), the date (since 2020), or the specific nature of the man's presence (with a pit bull or panhandling) at the 7th Avenue station.
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“The NYPD confirmed several instances of spit-attacks in the two subway stations this February — including a woman who reported being spat on her head by a man during morning rush hour in the 15th Street Prospect Park Station.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results or Wikipedia entries to confirm that the NYPD issued a statement confirming multiple spitting attacks in February, or the specific details of the morning rush hour incident.
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“On Feb 15, 2026, a 46-year-old woman also reported that a man spoke to her and attempted to spit on her as she walked down to the 7 Avenue/9 Street train station, police added.”
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“One individual, Norbert Williams, 33, has been busted multiple times for similar incidents at the two Park Slope train stations, cops said — but he has not been tied to the latest attacks by officials.”
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“Williams was busted as recently as July 15, 2025, after police said he allegedly targeted the same 24-year-old woman in separate incidents at the 15th Street Prospect Park station in February and June 2025, according to the NYPD.”
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“On Feb. 4, 2025, Williams allegedly spat at the woman in the mezzanine area and chased her.”
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“On June 6, 2025, he also allegedly approached her and spoke to her in a menacing tone, cops said.”
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“Williams also allegedly spat at a 28-year-old woman at the 15th Street Prospect Park station on May 26, 2024, police said.”
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“As she followed him and tried to take a photo, he allegedly punched her in the left side of her face and caused minor scratches to her face and hand, cops said.”
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“He was then cuffed and hit with assault charges on June 27, 2024.”
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“Williams has at least 15 previous arrests, with prior cases involving forcible touching, assault, reckless endangerment, terroristic threats, and multiple transit offenses, sources added.”
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“Multiple straphangers have reported to cops that they were followed, spat on, and harassed by an unidentified man after refusing to give him money.”
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“In a statement late February, Hanif wrote that her office met with NYPD transit officials and the Brooklyn District Attorney regarding the serial spitter after an influx of “frightening” reports from primarily female straphangers.”
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““There has been a pattern of incidents over time involving the same individual. When this person was receiving court-mandated mental health services last year, reported incidents decreased significantly,” Hanif wrote.”
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“After the court-mandated services ended for the person — who was not named in the statement — in December 2025, reports of spitting incidents increased again, the councilwoman said.”
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“Hanif, however, said officials have not been able to nab the man because spitting is technically often treated as a “violation-level” offense, and “threats, physical contact, or other conduct” are often needed to raise the charge.”
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“In a statement, the NYPD told The Post that officers will continue to patrol the 15th Street–Prospect Park and 7 Avenue/9 Street subway stations as the complaints persist.”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.