An NYPD drone helped police locate and arrest two teens caught subway surfing atop a Queens No. 7 train, police said Wednesday.
A drone flying over the No. 7 line in Corona spotted two boys, ages 14 and 15, atop a train near the 103rd St.-Corona Plaza station about 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday, cops said.
Officers were dispatched to the station, where the teens were removed from the train and taken into custody.
The younger teen, police said, had a set of MTA keys that allowed him into the conductor’s cabin.
Both youths were charged with reckless endangerment. The teen with the keys was additionally charged with possession of burglar’s tools.
Mayor Adams last month hailed the NYPD drone initiative, claiming it has been an important tool in the fight against subway surfing and has saved hundreds of lives.
“We will see the lives that are lost, but rarely do you get the medal for the lives that are saved,” the mayor said at a press conference outside a Queens school near the aboveground No. 7 train. “And these officers and this team and this technology is saving lives.”
The aerial drone program started last year as a pilot initiative and was made permanent this June, NYPD officials said.
Typically, the NYPD flies two drones to target subway surfing during the after-school hours from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. These drones fly above the elevated J, M, Z and 7 subway lines in Queens — a favorite borough for the dangerous stunt — to alert officers below if a subway surfer is spotted. The officers then apprehend the daredevils at a subway station and take them into custody.
The department has recently shaken up the schedule and is now flying drones in the morning, as well, officials said.
Since the program started a year ago, 114 people have been brought in after being flagged subway surfing by the drones. Around 40 of those people had been arrested more than once for subway surfing, NYPD officials said.
Six people have died from subway surfing this year, including two teens who perished while subway surfing within a few days of each other last month.
