A US Army soldier missed his father’s funeral after a Manhattan subway encounter turned violent on Friday morning. Aaron Kareem Watson, 27, said he was on leave and headed to Brooklyn to attend the service for his father when a dispute on the E train led to him being shoved onto the tracks at West Fourth Street Station in Greenwich Village.
Watson told The Post that the trip was already emotional because he was traveling to honor his father, Alfred Kenneth Watson, who died in a Brooklyn fire last month. He said the argument began over who had stared at whom first. Authorities said the other passenger followed Watson off the southbound train as it reached the station, then pushed him from the platform after the train pulled away.
Bystanders quickly pulled Watson back to safety before the situation became even worse. He suffered minor bruises and scratches and was taken to Bellevue Hospital. Police said the suspect remains at large and that no arrest has been made as the case stays under investigation.
Watson said he believed the man who confronted him was homeless. He described the suspect as stocky, about 5-foot-7, dressed all in black, wearing black and white sneakers, and carrying a black bag. Watson said he had been upset before the ride and became agitated after noticing the other passenger staring at him for an extended period.
The soldier said he had joined the Army two months ago and was in basic training in Georgia before receiving temporary leave to attend the memorial. The missed funeral added to the strain of losing his father, who died on July 23 during a blaze in East New York, Brooklyn, and would have turned 63 on Saturday. Watson said he had hoped to see his father before cremation and before his body was placed in the crematorium.
