By Tiffany Williams –
Brooklyn, NY — A Brooklyn man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to opening fire inside a crowded subway car during the evening rush hour last year, injuring two passengers.
Alexander Villafana, 22, of Cypress Hills. Villafana was sentenced by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Eugene Guarino after pleading guilty to second-degree attempted murder on April 8, 2025.
According to the investigation, on November 28, 2023, at approximately 5:35 p.m., Villafana was aboard a packed northbound C train near the Ralph Avenue station in Bedford-Stuyvesant when he got into a verbal dispute with a 17-year-old passenger. The altercation escalated, and Villafana pulled out a firearm and fired several rounds. The teenager was shot in the hand. A 52-year-old man attempting to flee into an adjacent subway car was struck in the ankle by a separate round.
Emergency responders transported the teen to Bellevue Hospital, where he was treated for fractures to both hands. The second victim was treated at Kings County Hospital, where doctors removed a bullet fragment from his fractured ankle. Investigators recovered a 9mm shell casing and bullets from the subway car.
Following the shooting, Villafana fled to Pennsylvania and altered his appearance. He was apprehended at his Brooklyn residence on December 12, 2023, by the Regional Fugitive Task Force.
District Attorney Gonzalez said, “This was a terrifying act of gun violence that endangered dozens of commuters and left two people injured. Firing multiple shots on a packed train showed a blatant disregard for human life, and this sentence holds the defendant accountable for his actions. We remain committed to ensuring public safety and delivering justice for victims.”