Teen arrested in Midtown subway killing of security guard heading home from work

A 17-year-old with no prior criminal record surrendered to police early Thursday morning and was charged with murder in the midday shooting death of Darrel Rodriguez, a 26-year-old Bronx security guard who was killed on a crowded Midtown Manhattan subway platform last Saturday. The suspect, Xavian Collins, turned himself in with his attorney and was ordered held without bail after pleading not guilty at his arraignment in Manhattan Supreme Court.

Rodriguez was shot once in the chest at approximately 12:21 p.m. on October 17 on the northbound E train platform at the Seventh Avenue–53rd Street station. He had been returning home from his job at a hotel when he got into an argument that moved back and forth between the platform and a train car. Collins then allegedly pulled out a firearm and shot Rodriguez at point-blank range before fleeing the station on foot, wearing a distinctive red hoodie and mask, according to prosecutors.

Bystanders rushed to help. A woman stepped off the train to perform CPR on Rodriguez after he collapsed on the platform. When police arrived three minutes later, they found him lying in a pool of blood as multiple bystanders applied pressure to his wounds, Assistant District Attorney Madeline Holbrook said at the arraignment. Paramedics transported Rodriguez to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, where he was pronounced dead.

They shocked him three times. They put those electric things on him and never. No response. None at all.— Hassen Pinchback, witness

Surveillance video captured Collins boarding the E train brandishing a firearm and, according to prosecutors, pointing it directly at Rodriguez at point-blank range. A 9-millimeter shell casing was recovered inside the subway car, according to ABC7. Collins left his phone behind at the scene; photos retrieved from it depicted large piles of $100 bills, apparent gang affiliation, and guns, ADA Holbrook alleged at the arraignment.

The defendant shot an unarmed victim inside the subway station during the middle of the day in a crowded subway station.— ADA Madeline Holbrook

Collins's attorney, Michael Horn, pushed back on the significance of the phone photos. 'With A.I. … Who knows these days if they're real or not,' he said, according to the Daily News.

What exactly ignited the confrontation remains unsettled. ABC7 and amNewYork reported that investigators believe Collins was smoking marijuana on the train or platform when Rodriguez asked him to stop, sparking the argument that escalated into gunfire. The Daily News, however, reported that police have since discounted that theory based on witness accounts, and that cops are still working to establish a motive.

Rodriguez's family described a young man whose life revolved around work and caring for others. His father, Fausto Rodriguez, 64, suffered a debilitating stroke and had to sell his barbershop after COVID. Darrel did his father's shopping, cooking, and cleaning. When he wasn't working or caregiving, he exercised and played guitar, family members said.

He was an excellent son and a good boy.— Fausto Rodriguez, victim's father

It's like a black hole in your heart. It is grief, but it is something deeper because this is your half.— Derick Rodriguez, victim's fraternal twin brother

Derick Rodriguez, who lives in Texas, told the New York Times he had a premonition something was wrong when a text to his brother went unanswered Sunday morning. When he called his mother, a detective who was with her delivered the news.

I want him in jail for like 60-70 years. He killed my son. He deserves it. People like that don't deserve to stay alive.— Fausto Rodriguez, victim's father

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber praised the NYPD's work following the arrest and called for the courts to deliver what he called maximum justice for Rodriguez, who he said 'was simply on his way home from work.'

Rodriguez's killing was the seventh subway homicide in New York City this year — a 75 percent increase compared with four murders in the transit system last year, according to police. The NYPD noted that in terms of overall crime, 2026 is so far the second safest year in the transit system in the last 15 years, excluding the pandemic. But felony assaults in the subway are up nearly 12 percent through October 11, and overall transit crime is up 1.6 percent.

Why it matters — The killing of a working 26-year-old on a busy midday platform — and the arrest of a 17-year-old with no record — puts a human face on a measurable rise in subway violence that affects millions of daily riders.

Sources differ on Motive for the shooting: Investigators believe a marijuana-smoking dispute sparked the argument that led to the shooting. (abc7ny.com) vs Police have discounted the marijuana-dispute theory based on witness accounts; motive is still being established. (nydailynews.com)

Reported by nydailynews.com, amny.com, abc7ny.com