NEW YORK − Police found two teenage girls dead atop a train car at a Brooklyn subway station early Oct. 4 and say the deaths are likely due to subway surfing, a dangerous trend that involves climbing on top of moving train cars.

At around 3:10 a.m., New York City police officers responded to a 911 call at the Marcy Avenue subway station. Police found two unidentified girls unconscious and unresponsive on top of a J train. Local news outlets reported the train had just crossed over the Williamsburg Bridge from Manhattan into Brooklyn.

First-responders pronounced the two girls dead at the scene, NYPD said.

Identification of the girls is pending with families being notified, NYPD said. The investigation, including into any social media posts leading up to the deaths, is ongoing. A partial suspension of train service between lower Manhattan and Brooklyn occurred as authorities responded.

“It’s heartbreaking that two young girls are gone because they somehow thought riding outside a subway train was an acceptable game,” Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit, said in a statement. “Parents, teachers, and friends need to be clear with loved ones: getting on top of a subway car isn’t 'surfing' − it’s suicide.”

The trend surfaced on social media and has led some to film and share the dangerous stunt.

The girls' deaths weren’t the only suspected subway surfing incidents among teens as of late. The New York Daily News reported a 14-year-old boy was hospitalized hours earlier on Oct. 3 after he fell from the top of a Manhattan-bound 7 train in Queens.

Subway surfing has caused alarm among city officials for deaths and injuries among youth. NYPD began tracking subway surfing in 2022, when officials said the trend first emerged. At least three other people have died due to the trend in 2025, according to NYPD data.

Six people died train surfing in 2024, and five people died in 2023.

In 2023, city and state officials launched a public information campaign, dubbed “Subway Surfing Kills − Ride Inside, Stay Alive,” to deter the dangerous behavior among some youth. New York City has also sued five social media companies, citing harm to youth mental health and subway surfing as an example. NYPD has also deployed drones to monitor subway lines.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority has worked with social media companies, including TikTok and Instagram, to remove videos of people riding outside of trains. Through June of 2025, over 1,800 videos had been taken down, a MTA news release said.

The subway has regular announcements against subway surfing. Rapper Cardi B, a Bronx native, recently voiced public service announcements for the subway.

Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Subway surfing' blamed for deaths of 2 teen girls

Reporting by Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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