A 23-year-old woman was arrested by the NYPD for attacking a cellist at a Manhattan subway station last month.
The NYPD arrested Amira Hunter for assault on Wednesday. A metal water bottle hit 29-year-old electric cellist Iain Forrest, known as “Eyeglasses,” in the back of the head at 34th Street Herald Square station in mid-February, prompting the Brooklyn resident's arrest.
Hunter, who had domestic abuse, petty, and grand larceny charges but no criminal convictions, pled not guilty and was ordered to cooperate with supervised release.
“The judge in this case was right to order supervised release for Ms. Hunter, as she has no prior criminal convictions.” Even with early video releases, people deserve the presumption of innocence because that is only part of the tale. Others have been exonerated despite early video footage for that reason.”
In a Friday video, Forrest said he was “relieved and thankful” the perpetrator was caught. "You may see on the news that the suspect was released under supervision; rather than get mired in bail reform, I want to focus on everyone staying safe and moving forward with music," Forrest remarked.
A lady watched Forrest perform at the station before attacking him, according to video. Forrest, a member of Music Under New York, told NBC News that the event made him cease playing in the NYC subway system. He stated he is building a group to strengthen subway musician safeguards.
Forrest wants more precise attack data from the NYPD. He stated there's no simple count or tracking of musicians attacked.
Once we notice those trends, we realize, ‘OK, well, look, it's against solo artists who are at 34th Street Herald Square at the evening rush hour.’ Once you know that, you can give the NYPD resources to avoid it.” Hunter's court appearance is scheduled for April 4.
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