FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, December 19, 2024
Man Indicted for Fatally Stabbing Another Man
On Subway in Coney Island Following Dispute
Defendant Allegedly Stabbed Victim in Leg and Torso
Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez today announced that a homeless man has been arraigned on an indictment in which he is charged with murder for fatally stabbing a man on an N train at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island stop following a dispute.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a tragic and senseless murder that is particularly frightening as it took place aboard a subway car with several commuters. There is no place for this type of violence in Brooklyn. We will now seek to get justice for the victim and his loved ones.”
The District Attorney identified the defendant as Zhongqian Chen, 32. The defendant was arraigned today before Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Dineen Riviezzo on an indictment in which he is charged with second-degree murder and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The defendant was held without bail and ordered to return to court on February 7, 2025. He faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted of the top count.
The District Attorney said that, according to the investigation, on October 29, 2024, at approximately 11:10 p.m., the defendant approached the victim, Timothy Rudolph, 54, while both were on the N train at the Stillwell Avenue-Coney Island stop. The defendant allegedly attacked the victim, and the two men began to fight. The defendant then allegedly displayed a knife and stabbed the victim two times, once in the torso and once in the leg.
The victim, a resident of the Bronx, was taken to NYU Langone Hospital – Brooklyn, where he was pronounced dead.
The defendant fled the scene and was arrested on November 7, 2024, following an investigation.
Anyone with information about this incident is urged to contact Crimestoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
The case is being prosecuted by Senior Assistant District Attorney Matthew Perry, of the District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, under the supervision of Assistant District Attorney Leila Rosini, Homicide Bureau Chief.
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An indictment is an accusatory instrument and not proof of a defendant’s guilt.