Update October 9, 2025: We’ve updated the story to include the names of the victims.
Two girls were found dead in what police suspect to be an incident of subway surfing on a J train, multiple outlets are reporting.
The NYPD responded to a call at the Marcy Avenue subway stop in Williamsburg around 3 a.m. on Saturday. They found two girls, Zemfira Mukhtarov, 12, and Ebba Morina, 13 , who EMS pronounced deceased at the scene.
New York City Transit President Demetrius Crichlow said in a statement:
“It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game. Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on top of a subway car isn’t ‘surfing’—it’s suicide.”
The deaths are part of a deadly trend that has gone viral on social media. AP News reports that “[s]ix people died surfing subway trains in the city last year, up from five in 2023.”
Tragic and rare for girls. Usually it’s young boys we hear about re these tragedies.
On the other hand with eight+ million people in the city and crazy people it is a miracle we don’t see this happen more often.
Ironically, our extremely low birth rate which is causing monumental issues from replacement rates to funding for all institutions etc. will help prevent more of these tragedies simply because relatively speaking young people will not be around.
There is always an upside to a horrible downside.