NEW YORK (PIX11) — A great-grandfather who was nearly killed just hours into the new year is speaking out from the hospital after police say he was shoved into a moving subway train in the Bronx.
Officials say the suspect is a Russian national working as a doctor in New York. During his arraignment, the suspect’s attorney told a judge his client has committed his life to caring for sick people. Police say it was at a Bronx subway station where he attempted to kill a stranger.
Julio Figueroa, 72, was heading home from a Yonkers casino early New Year’s morning when police say he was pushed into a moving No. 4 train at the 161 St-Yankee Stadium station.
“He’s alive, thank God,” his niece said. “We have angels looking down on him, so thank God for that. Just keep the prayers coming.”
Figueroa and his family invited PIX11 News to the hospital, where he remains in intensive care, but stable. He spoke in a whisper and said he is in immense pain but grateful to have survived.
“He wants people to know his story so that this doesn’t happen again,” his Goddaughter Venis Falu said.
Police say the attack happened just three hours into 2026, when 29-year-old Anton Aleshin allegedly shoved Figueroa into the train, causing him to strike the train and bounce back onto the platform.
Figueroa told PIX11 News he does not remember the incident.
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“He has two broken ribs, his face is messed up, staples in his head, and internal bleeding,” Martha Quinones, his sister-in-law, said.
Witnesses called 911, and officers arrived within seconds, arresting Aleshin at the scene.
In court, prosecutors said Aleshin is a Russian national enrolled in a residency program at Brookdale Hospital, which declined to comment about his status.
“Why would you try to hurt someone if you’re trying to save lives?” Falu said. “He could have died.”
Police say the push was unprovoked and that Aleshin admitted to the act.
“When we told him they caught the guy, he was in shock,” Falu said. “He doesn’t know if he was followed.”
A Bronx judge ordered Aleshin held without bail, citing concerns he could flee to Russia, which has no extradition treaty with the United States.
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