| “ | Myra, in a situation like this, your mind, you're in a combat situation. Your mind is functioning. You're not thinking in a normal way. Your memory isn't even working normally. You are so hyped up. Your vision actually changes. Your field of view changes. Your capabilities change. What you are capable of changes. You are under adrenaline, a drug called adrenaline. And you respond very quickly, and you think very quickly. That's all. [...] You think! You think, you analyze, and you act. And in any situation, you just have to think more quickly than your opposition. That's all. You know. Speed is very important. | ” |
— Goetz
| ||
Bernhard Hugo Goetz Jr., aka The Subway Vigilante, is an American man who shot four teenage boys, allegedly in self-defense when they attempted to rob him. His case has become nationally infamous due to it raising awareness to crime in New York, as well as attracting both heavy praise and criticism to Goetz himself.
Background[]
Goetz was born on November 7, 1947, to Bernhard Sr. and Gertrude Goetz. His parents were both German American and Lutherans (his mother was originally Jewish, but converted to her husband's faith). Goetz was the youngest of their four children. He and his sister attended a boarding school in Switzerland starting when he was 12. Goetz returned to the U.S. to attend New York University in 1965. He earned a bachelor's degree in both electrical and nuclear engineering. Goetz joined his family when they relocated to Orlando and worked with his father's residential development business. After he was divorced from a brief marriage, Goetz moved to New York City and began an electronics business from his apartment in Greenwich Village.
In 1981, Goetz was allegedly transporting electric equipment when he was attacked by three teenagers during an attempted robbery in the Canal Street subway station. They injured his chest and knee (causing permanent damage to both areas) when he was assisted by an off-duty officer. He helped the officer arrest one of the attackers while the other two escaped. The delinquent was only charged with criminal mischief and spent only half the time Goetz spent in the police station. Enraged, Goetz filed for a permit to carry a concealed firearm (which failed) and later bought a revolver while on a trip in Florida.
Subway Shooting[]
On December 22, 1984, Goetz entered a subway car, in which four teenage muggers had arrived on earlier with screwdrivers and intention to steal money from arcade machines. He entered the car and sat across one of the muggers. After making small talk with Goetz, they surrounded and blocked him off and asked him for $5 (allegedly panhandling, and not demanding). Goetz then shot the four teenagers with the revolver he purchased earlier. He briefly encountered the conductor and jumped the tracks to escape the train. He gathered some belongings and rented a car, destroyed both his blue jacket and the revolver, and stayed in several hotels under several different names.
Capture, Trial, and Aftermath[]
Goetz turned himself into the Concord, New Hampshire Police headquarters on December 31. Goetz agreed to make an audiotaped statement and did so for over two-hours. The tape was sent to a grand jury, the criminal trial, and a civil trial years later. Goetz expressed his disdain for the legal justice system, his fear of being "beaten to a pulp" and robbed, as well as his desire to murder his victims, and even a sadistic pleasure from hurting them. Goetz was moved to Manhattan on January 3, 1985 and held at Riker's Island prison hospital at $50,000 bail. He bailed himself out and was released on January 8. In 1996, Darrell Cabey sued Goetz and won $43,000,000. Goetz filed for bankruptcy, and it's unknown what happened afterward. Goetz simply insisted that any questions be asked of his attorney. Exactly 27 years after the shooting, James Ramseur, the youngest victim, committed suicide by overdosing on pills, aged 45. Goetz himself continues to give interviews and even ran for mayor in 2001 but failed. He was arrested for allegedly selling marijuana in 2013, but the charges were dropped the next year.
The case of the Subway Vigilante attracted both heavy support (some believing Goetz to have been acting in self-defense) and criticism (others saying the teenagers were merely panhandling or that Goetz's reaction was excessive, unjustifiable, and even racist).
Modus Operandi[]
A Smith & Wesson Model 38 revolver, similar to the one used by Goetz
Goetz shot his victims with a 38-caliber Smith & Wesson Model 38 revolver, firing five shot at the muggers, one of which was left paraplegic and brain-damaged as a result.
Known Victims[]
- December 22, 1984: The New York Subway Shooting (the following four were all shot; survived)
- Troy Canty, 19 (shot at least once through the center of his body)
- Barry Allen, 19 (shot once in the shoulder; the bullet was removed through his arm)
- Darrell Cabey, 19 (shot twice; the first shot missed, but the second hit from the left; was left paraplegic and brain-damaged)
- James Ramseur, 18 (shot in the left side oh his body; his arm was also hit; later committed suicide 27 years later by overdosing, at the age of 45)
- Numerous Unnamed Subway Passengers (unintentionally; some were nearly hit by stray bullets)
- Note: This is how Goetz allegedly claimed the shooting went down, according to his site.
On Criminal Minds[]
- Season One
- "A Real Rain" - Goetz was referenced in the episode when Gideon compared him and the media attention he got to the case at hand. He may have also provided a source of inspiration for the episode's unsub, Marvin Doyle - Both were New York vigilantes who experienced a violent crime in some way (Doyle's parents were killed in a robbery and he was present at the trials of acquitted criminals, while Goetz was assaulted by juvenile delinquents), felt the justice system was inadequate, they shot someone on some form of public transport (Doyle killed a man inside a taxi, while Goetz shot four people on board a subway car), were given nicknames with "Vigilante" in it, and were both appraised and criticized by the public for their actions after their apprehensions (though Goetz turned himself in while Doyle was killed). He is also similar to Will Sykes - Both were victims of violent muggings, committed shootings in public in New York City, were active during crime panics in the city they operated in, targeted their victims when they approached them, used a handgun concealed on their person, turned themselves into the police, and claimed self-defense.
- Season Three
- "True Night" - Goetz was mentioned by Rossi as an example of how the episode's unsub may have found his victims, by waiting for them to attack them first.
- Season Ten
- "Protection" - While never directly mentioned or referenced in the episode, Goetz appears to be an inspiration for the episode's main unsub, Danny Lee Stokes - Both are vigilantes who were victims of violent robbers (though while Goetz was the victim and lived, Stokes' mother was the victim and killed), had a personally registered handgun as their weapon of choice, were accused of discriminatory profiling of their victims, used exceedingly excessive force in their shootings, had innocent bystanders as victims as well (though while Goetz never harmed them, Stokes killed one by accident), and professed their feelings of power from their crimes and their objections toward failures by law and justice.