On Sunday, January 16, Asian-American woman Michelle Go was pushed in front of a subway at the Times Square Station in New York City and killed. Go was 40 years old and is remembered as a compassionate and caring person who spent much of her time helping women and children in at-risk communities with the New York Junior League, as well as volunteering for the homeless. She worked at the management firm Deloitte in New York. 

“The NYJL is greatly saddened to learn of the death of Michelle Go under such senseless and tragic circumstances,” stated Dayna Barlow Cassidy, president of the organization. “With a focus on strengthening family units, she served many women and children within our New York community, helping them enrich their lives through education on nutrition.” 

On Tuesday, January 18, a candlelight vigil was held in Times Square as hundreds mourned the death of Go. 

“We hope Michelle will be remembered for how she lived and not just how she died. She was a beautiful, brilliant, kind, and intelligent woman who loved her family and friends, loved to travel the world and to help others. Her life was taken too soon in a senseless act of violence, and we pray that she gets the justice she deserves,” stated Go’s family that night. 

At the vigil, Go’s portrait stood over the crowd, along with the faces of other Asian-American victims. While officials do not believe that the attack was a hate crime, Go’s death, along with the string of other violent attacks against Asian Americans, has led to feelings of fear and unsafety within the community as Asian hate crimes have risen in recent months.

61-year-old Simon Martial has been charged with second-degree murder for her death and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. The push occurred at around 9:40 AM, unprovoked. NYPD Assistant Chief Jason Wilcox revealed that Martial has a criminal background as well as three “emotionally disturbed encounters,” and had approached another woman before Go. The woman later stated that she had felt like Martial was about to push her too, had she not walked away.

Go’s death has also led to questions of improving New York’s public transportation system to prevent such attacks from happening and to ensure that people feel safe as they wait for the subway or use the city’s stations.

Days after the attack, New York City mayor Eric Adams promised that “We’re going to make sure New Yorkers feel safe in our subway system. And they don’t feel that way now” 

Adams went on to admit, “I don’t feel that way when I take the train every day, or when I’m moving throughout our transportation system.”

“Being a Korean woman myself, hearing about Michelle Go was frightening and infuriating at the same time. The fact that these cases of hate and also the risks women face in public still happen show how little progress we have made. Obviously, it is naive to think that these problems can be completely eliminated and resolved from one solution. However, we can only hope that with education and time these outdated values can be pushed past. And it also is important to be an ally to these groups that are still being targeted because as cliche as it is, we are stronger in numbers,” stated senior Juliana Lee.

In the wake of Go’s death, concerns have been raised about safety in the New York Public Transportation system, such as the lack of safety gates in the stations.