A man was shot and killed after an argument in a Midtown subway station Saturday afternoon turned deadly, police and sources said.

The gunfire erupted inside the 7th Avenue station at 53rd Street, located in tourist-packed Midtown West, at 12:21 p.m., the NYPD said.

First responders administered CPR on the platform before rushing the man to Bellevue Hospital in cardiac arrest, where he was pronounced dead, sources said.

A man dressed in red, identified as one of the alleged gunmen, flees the scene. Obtained by NY Post

He, the gunman and another individual had engaged in some type of dispute on the northbound platform, though the details are not yet clear, according to NYPD Deputy Chief Keith Shine.

Police have yet to recover a weapon and the NYPD warned that the suspect on the loose is armed and dangerous.

It’s also not clear whether the gunman knew the victim, but police emphasized the shooting was targeted.

“Nothing random between these two individuals,” an NYPD spokesperson told The Post at the scene.

An E train had pulled up to the platform and opened its doors just moments before the shooting occurred, with one witness telling The Post he heard two “pops” roughly eight seconds apart, sending straphangers into a frenzy.

Police rush to help the victim. Sofia Poznansky/NY Post

“Everybody was running,” said Mauricio Marroquin, who was on his way home to Queens after working a morning shift as a breakfast attendant.

“I seen a gentleman laying right in front,” Marroquin said of the victim. “He was dressed in a blazer, looked like he was coming from work or something, bro. Going to work or coming from work. It was two shots, man. He only got hit with one, like, that’s weird. And they were eight seconds apart, man. That’s weird.”

Marroquin said several bystanders surrounded the victim, one of whom began chest compressions until EMS arrived and another who held the injured man’s hand.

“Another gentleman was just talking to him, like, ‘Hey, man, wake up, wake up, stay up, stay up, stay up,’” said Marroquin.

Harrowing video obtained by The Post shows first responders frantically doing chest compressions on the victim as he lay on the ground of the crowded platform.

Police investigate after a person was shot in a Midtown subway station on the 7th Avenue platform at 53rd Street in New York, Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026. Michael McWeeney/NY Post

Police are searching for the suspect, who was last seen wearing a red tracksuit, black puffer vest and what appeared to be a black balaclava, security footage shows.

The shooting marks the seventh murder in the New York City transit system so far this year.

Transit murders are up 75% compared to the same period last year, which saw just four, according to data through Sunday.

“Guns have no place in transit, which is why we’ve strongly supported New York State’s legal fight to make sure it’s illegal to carry them in the subway system,” Michael Kemper, MTA’s Chief Security Officer, said in a statement.

He added that the MTA has been coordinating with the NYPD, and that the perps in this shooting will be tracked down and “should face maximum consequences from the justice system.”

But commuters who spoke with The Post weren’t buying promises of subway safety.

“To be honest I’m not really sure how effective it’s been. I hear a lot of talk. So, I don’t know if there is actual action behind it,” said lifelong New Yorker Leslie, 50, a housekeeper from the Bronx.

“I don’t feel safe in the city, and I absolutely don’t feel safe on the train at all. Not even a little bit.”

“Are they going to have to, like, put in metal detectors in the subway now?” lamented Priscilla Rodriguez, 35, a data analyst from Rhode Island who was in Midtown visiting her sister.

“I just think it’s sad people can’t live their lives, their daily lives, go on about their business without being unsafe.”