Police said the suspect had been released from Bellevue Hospital hours before the fatal Chelsea shove.
NEW YORK, NY — A 32-year-old man was charged with murder after police said he shoved a 76-year-old retired teacher down the stairs of a Chelsea subway entrance Thursday night, hours after officers had taken him to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
The death of Ross Falzone has drawn sharp questions about how Rhamell Burke was evaluated and released before the attack. Police said Falzone and Burke did not appear to know each other. Mayor Zohran Mamdani ordered a review of Bellevue’s handling of the case, making the killing a test of the city’s response to mental health crises, subway safety and repeat arrests.
Police said the attack happened just after 9:30 p.m. Thursday at the No. 1 train station entrance at West 18th Street and Seventh Avenue. Surveillance video showed Falzone walking toward the subway stairs as Burke moved quickly behind him, police said. Investigators said Burke pushed Falzone from behind, sending him down the steps. Officers found Falzone unconscious and unresponsive with head injuries. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition and died there just before 3 a.m. Friday. Police said the shove appeared to be unprovoked. Burke fled after the attack and was arrested Friday afternoon inside Penn Station, officials said.
Earlier Thursday, officers encountered Burke outside the 17th Precinct stationhouse on East 51st Street near Third Avenue, police said. Officials said he was acting erratically and pulled a stick from a garbage can while approaching officers. Police said an officer defused the encounter and Burke was taken to Bellevue Hospital in a police vehicle. Officials gave slightly different arrival times, placing him at the hospital shortly before 4 p.m. Police said he was evaluated in the psychiatric emergency room and released later that afternoon, about five hours before Falzone was pushed. The exact basis for the discharge was not made public. Christopher Miller, a spokesperson for NYC Health and Hospitals, said Bellevue welcomed the review and expected it to find that its care was appropriate.
Falzone lived on the Upper West Side and was remembered by relatives and neighbors as quiet, educated and gentle. His sister, Donna Falzone, said he had a doctorate from Columbia University and had worked as a special education teacher. “He wouldn’t hurt anybody,” she said. “He’s a bag of bones. He’s not even 100 pounds.” She said she had recently celebrated her birthday with him in Manhattan and was planning another visit from Pennsylvania when she received word of his death. Neighbors at his West 85th Street building said Falzone lived alone in a rent-stabilized apartment and had recently dealt with health problems that made stairs harder for him.
Burke had four prior arrests since February, including allegations involving assault on a Port Authority police officer and assault of a stranger, authorities said. Police said he was on supervised release in one earlier case. The new case also comes amid public concern over violence in and around the transit system, even as citywide crime trends have moved in different directions depending on the category and location. The 13th Precinct, which covers parts of Chelsea, Gramercy Park, Stuyvesant Town, Madison Square Park and Union Square, had recorded no homicides this year before Falzone’s death, according to precinct figures cited in local reports.
Mamdani said Friday that NYC Health and Hospitals must conduct an immediate investigation into Bellevue’s decisions in the hours before the killing. He also directed a broader review of psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols across the public hospital system. The mayor said the city asked the state Department of Health to review the matter as well. “New Yorkers deserve answers,” Mamdani said. Police charged Burke with murder after his arrest. Court details, including arraignment information and whether Burke had an attorney who could speak for him, were not immediately clear in early reports.
The killing shook Chelsea residents who use the West 18th Street station and renewed attention on how police, hospitals and courts handle people accused of repeated public disorder or violence. Susan Antonson, a Chelsea resident, said the attack frightened her because it seemed random. “It scares me,” she said. Donna Falzone said her family was stunned that her brother was killed while going about a normal night in the city. Witnesses called 911 after the shove, and police said several people helped investigators piece together what happened at the station entrance.
Burke remained in police custody after the murder charge, while city and state officials began reviewing the Bellevue release. The next major step is expected in court, where prosecutors will outline the charge and a judge will decide Burke’s custody status.
Author note: Last updated May 9, 2026.