Suspect released from psychiatric ward allegedly pushes old man down subway stairs
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Rahmell Burke, 32, had just been released from a psychiatric ward when he pushed an elderly man down the stairs to his death on Thursday night in Manhattan, according to the New York Post.
Police arrested Burke and took him to Bellevue Hospital on Thursday afternoon, a New York Police Department source told Fox News Digital.
The officers reportedly placed him on the ground as “mentally disturbed,” according to the Post.
But an hour later, Burke was released. Five hours after that, Burke allegedly pushed former teacher Ross Falzone, 76, down the subway stairs in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, killing the old man, an NYPD source told Fox News Digital.
Police told the Post that Burke was “not acting well” outside the NYPD station when they arrested him. It is said that he was carrying a stick that he had taken from a garbage can.
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Rahmell Burke, 32, is accused of pushing and killing Ross Falzone, 76, on Thursday. Burke was released from the psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital hours before the alleged murder. (WNYW)
“We brought him in at 3:30 p.m. and he was released before 5 p.m. Meanwhile, if you or I went into Bellevue with a headache, it would take 8 hours to show up. The NYPD uses its automatic removal powers all the time. And they just come out with Advil,” a senior NYPD official reportedly told the Post.
The police allegedly found Falzone unconscious and unresponsive and rushed him to Bellevue where he was pronounced dead.
Authorities say he suffered a severe brain injury, a broken right rib and a broken spine, according to the Post.
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“He’s a helpless old guy. What a cowardly and stupid thing to do,” Falzone’s neighbor Marc Stager told the Post.
When the police arrested Burke on Thursday, it was his fifth arrest in 2026. He was arrested on suspicion of robbery, resisting arrest and allegedly assaulting a Port Authority police officer in February and was arrested again for assaulting a stranger in April, according to the Post.
Rahmell Burke, 32, is seen being escorted by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers after the alleged death of Ross Falzone, 76, at the bottom of the underground stairs. (WNYW)
“There is no anger we can express, and shock,” Falzone’s sister, Donna, told ABC7 Eyewitness News. “I mean to get a call like that at 4 in the morning, you know, you just know, to find out that your brother is dealing with his affairs, three witnesses, and you throw down the stairs and walk away thinking he’s dead.”
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Donna also revealed that her brother was a retired special education teacher with a doctorate from Columbia University.
New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a city investigation into Bellevue’s treatment and Burke’s psychiatric evaluation after the murder.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a May Day rally in Washington Square Park in New York City on May 1, 2026. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
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“I am shocked by the killing of Ross Falzone and the circumstances that led to it. My condolences to his loved ones,” said Mamdani in a statement.
“The people of New York deserve answers. This is why I have directed NYC Health + Hospitals to conduct both an immediate investigation into what measures should have been taken to prevent this tragedy and a complete review of their psychiatric evaluation and discharge protocols,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the NYPD, the mayor’s office and Bellevue Hospital for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
