A 25-year-old man was arrested on Wednesday and charged in the fatal beating of a 64-year-old man near the turnstiles of a Brooklyn subway station the day before, according to the police.
The two men did not appear to know each other.
The 25-year-old man had a samurai sword and a martial arts weapon when he was arrested, though it appeared that they were not used in the attack, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the matter.
On Tuesday, just after 3 p.m., police officers arrived at the Jay Street-MetroTech subway station in Downtown Brooklyn, one of the borough’s major transit hubs, where they found the older man, Nicola Tanzi, unconscious and with serious head injuries, according to the authorities. He later died at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital.
On Wednesday, officers arrested the 25-year-old man, David Mazariegos, who was charged in Brooklyn Criminal Court with first- and second-degree murder, robbery and possessing a stolen credit card, according to court records. He is being held at the Rikers Island jail complex.
On Tuesday, Mr. Mazariegos, who was carrying a backpack containing a nunchaku, a martial arts weapon, tried to enter the Jay Street-MetroTech station through an emergency exit, according to surveillance video reviewed by The New York Times and the law enforcement official.
Mr. Tanzi, who was standing by the turnstiles, motioned to Mr. Mazariegos to pull the emergency door harder in order to open it, the video shows. It was then that Mr. Mazariegos pulled Mr. Tanzi to the ground and began to kick him in the head repeatedly until he stopped moving, the video shows.
After the beating, Mr. Mazariegos slipped underneath a turnstile without paying his fare, the video shows. He then boarded the subway with his backpack. The next day, he was arrested in Times Square with the nunchaku and samurai sword, according to the official.
It was not clear whether Mr. Mazariegos was carrying the sword at the time of the attack.
Camille Baker is a Times reporter covering New York City and its surrounding areas.
Chelsia Rose Marcius is a criminal justice reporter for The Times, covering the New York Police Department.
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