Kamal Semrade, 39, of New York City, New York, United States used to live in an apartment in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, New York City. He was assigned to a shelter in Bronx, New York City in April 2021 but most recently, he lived in a shelter near LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York City.

On the morning of May 21, 2023, Semrade and Emine Yilmaz Oszoy, 35, of Jackson Heights, Queens boarded the same E train. The latter is a multidisciplinary designer and illustrator who also works as a barista at a coffee shop in Queens and she was on her way to work that morning.

At around 6:00 a.m., both Semrade and Oszoy got off when the train stopped at the Lexington Avenue/63 Street Station, a New York City Subway station in Lenox Hill, Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City. Wearing a black shirt with a white rim, blue jeans and white sneakers, he allegedly approached her from behind and pushed her into a subway train that was pulling out of the station.

“I was like, ‘Do you know him?’” eyewitness Nancy Marrero, 45, of Long Island City, Queens told the New York Post. “She was like, ‘I don’t even know what happened.’ I said, ‘A gentleman just shoved your head into the train.’ She was like, ‘Oh my God, I don’t, I don’t even, I can’t even remember what happened’.”

Semrade fled on foot. New York City Police Department officers used pictures from Metropolitan Transportation Authority cameras to find him.

Authorities rushed Ozsoy to Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. Her ribs were fractured and her head, neck and spine were seriously injured and she was not expected to recover below the neck, doctors initially said.

On May 22, 2023, the NYPD released surveillance photos showing Semrade loitering around the platform holding a cup of coffee. Later that day, he was arrested at a shelter in Queens and was held at a police facility at Columbus Circle in Manhattan.

On May 23, 2023, Ozsoy was able to move her arms. That day, she underwent a third surgery for eight hours and she was in and out of consciousness.

Also that day, NYPD officers led Semrade out of NYPD Transit Bureau District 1 in Manhattan. He was charged with attempted murder and assault.

Born and raised in Turkey, Ozsoy graduated from Marmara University in Istanbul, Turkey with a bachelor’s degree in art and crafts teacher education in 2015. On her behalf, a GoFundMe page was set up for her by her friend and coworker Shiv Patel.