1984 New York City Subway shooting

Rare card · No. 52490

On December 22, 1984, Bernhard Goetz () shot four black teenagers on a New York City Subway train in Manhattan. All four victims survived, though one, Darrell Cabey, was paralyzed and suffered brain damage as a result of his injuries. Goetz fled to Bennington, Vermont, before surrendering to police nine days after the shooting. He was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and several firearms offenses. Goetz claimed self-defense at trial, alleging that the teenagers had attempted to rob him. The jury subsequently found Goetz guilty of one count of carrying an unlicensed firearm and acquitted him of the remaining charges. For the firearm offense, he served eight months of a one-year sentence. In 1996, Cabey obtained a $43 million civil judgment (equivalent to $88 million in 2025) against Goetz after a civil jury ruled Goetz liable. The incident sparked a nationwide debate on crime in major U.S. cities, the legal limits of self-defense, and the extent to which the...

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