A screenshot from a video uploaded to TikTok by @big.ebk, which has since been removed, shows subway surfers in New York City. Four teens have died performing the dangerous stunt in the city this year.A screenshot from a video uploaded to TikTok by @big.ebk, which has since been removed, shows subway surfers in New York City. Four teens have died performing the dangerous stunt in the city this year.
last month. He said four teens died in the first six months of 2023, with two more seriously injured. By comparison, there were five suspected subway surfing fatalities between 2018 and 2022, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesperson Michael Cortez. Kemper also said there have been"dozens of apprehensions and over 70 arrests" involving subway surfing this year. NYPD officers have also gone door to door and to speak with the parents and guardians of identified subway surfers in hopes they can stop their loved ones from participating in the dangerous stunt."Our message is clear to anyone who's considering subway surfing. Don't do it," Kemper said at the press briefing.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams called on social media companies to ban videos of the dangerous trend after a 14-year-old boy died and another was critically injured while subway surfing in Brooklyn in late June. "Social media must be socially responsible. Subway Surfing kills. We need everyone to be a part of ending this dangerous threat,"In response to the boy's death, TikTok issued a statement expressing condolences for the family, noting that the trend predates social media and that 40,000"safety professionals" work to remove harmful content,