60-Year-Old Black Woman Beaten With Cane On Subway Platform

Source: Torresigner / Getty

People ain’t s#!t, exhibit #999.

According to NBC New York, on Sept. 1, a 60-year-old Black woman identified by the NYPD as Laurel Reynolds was beaten mercilessly by a 43-year-old white man named Norton Blake on an NYC subway platform in Harlem. The video has gone viral on social media partly because people love to record violence but also because people were filming instead of helping this sista fend off a devilish attacker.

We will warn you that the video is graphic and can be distressing to say the very least. Please take stock of your mental health before you press play.

As you can see in the clip, the man attempts to stab the woman with an umbrella before taking control of her walking cane and beating her repeatedly in the head, stomach, legs, arms, back, and hands. When the cane splinters, he continues to kick and punch her while she lay helpless on the dirty subway ground.

Just typing those words is infuriating. Sure, nobody wants to rumble a psycho aboard a subway train but dammit does nobody have the heart, mind, or moral backbone to come to the aid of an elderly Black woman? The question is rhetorical, the answer is abundantly clear.

NBC reports:

Other commuters who saw the video Tuesday commented on how no one seemed to intervene or offered to step in to help the woman — and not being surprised.

“People don’t get involved like they used to,” said Irene Richardson. “Thank God she’s alive. That’s a blessing in itself.”

Thoughts and prayers. Gee, thanks.

According to a DailyMail report, the NYPD did eventually catch up with Blake but released him after conducting an interview with him and Ms. Reynolds where authorities said both offered conflicting accounts of what caused the fight. As if that matters…

Suffice it to say, Ms. Reynolds’ family, her daughter 41-year-old Lashanne Reese in particular, is none-too-pleased with that decision:

That man could’ve killed my mother,’ she added, as her mom remains hospitalized and is believed to be in stable condition.

‘You all did nothing. I have a problem with that.’

NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper spoke at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon to help provide clarity on what they believed happened:

‘A witness [said] they were arguing over something that might have dropped,’ Kemper said, claiming it was still unclear whether the two knew each other.

‘He might have been helping her carry something up the steps and something might have dropped, causing them to argue,’ he theorized.

For the life of us, we don’t understand why any of that matters. Who cares how it started, the fact is that Blake relentlessly beat an older woman with a weapon. He wasn’t defending his life. He was violent and unhinged yet faced no consequences.

Malcolm X was right. He was always right…