Horrifying Moment Retired Teacher, 76, Is Shoved to His Death Down NYC Subway Stairs by ‘Emotionally Disturbed’ Man Released From Psych Ward Hours Earlier

Chilling surveillance footage captured the terrifying moment a retired elderly teacher was allegedly shoved down a flight of subway stairs to his death by a man who had reportedly been released from a psychiatric ward just hours earlier.

Police say 32-year-old Rhamell Burke violently pushed 76-year-old Ross Falzone down the stairs at a Manhattan subway station Thursday night, leaving the beloved former educator fatally injured in the shocking attack.

The horrifying incident unfolded in Chelsea, where stunned witnesses watched Falzone plunge down the staircase before the suspect allegedly fled the scene.

According to reports, Burke had been detained by NYPD officers earlier that same afternoon after allegedly behaving erratically outside a police station. Sources told authorities he was wielding a stick he had taken from a garbage can and was classified as an “emotionally disturbed person.”

Cops transported Burke to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation at around 3:30 p.m., but he was reportedly released less than two hours later.

Just five hours after walking free, Burke allegedly carried out the deadly subway attack.

“It’s unbelievable,” one high-ranking NYPD officer reportedly told the New York Post. “You or I could wait eight hours in Bellevue just to get treated for a headache, but these emotionally disturbed individuals are released almost immediately.”

Emergency responders discovered Falzone unconscious and unresponsive at the bottom of the stairs before rushing him to Bellevue Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Authorities said the retired teacher suffered catastrophic injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, spinal fractures, and broken ribs.

Burke’s arrest Thursday marked his fifth arrest of 2026, according to reports. He had previously been arrested on allegations including robbery, resisting arrest, assaulting a Port Authority police officer, and attacking a stranger earlier this year.

The senseless killing has left Falzone’s devastated family searching for answers.

“There’s no amount of anger that we can express, and shock,” Falzone’s sister Donna told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “To get a call like that at four in the morning — to find out your brother was minding his own business and was pushed down the steps and left for dead — it’s unimaginable.”

The disturbing footage of the incident has since spread online, reigniting outrage over violent crime and the handling of repeat offenders suffering from mental illness in New York City.