Mark Smith: Man arrested for fatally stabbing Isaiah Collazo, 18, on NYC subway over e-brake 'prank'
STATEN ISLAND, NEW YORK: Police have arrested the man who is believed to be responsible for the stabbing death of an 18-year-old Isaiah Collazo on a D train in Brooklyn, following an argument between the two. The suspect, identified as Mark Smith, was charged on Tuesday, April 11, with manslaughter, assault, and two counts of weapon possession.
According to police reports, Collazo, a Staten Island resident, was on a northbound D train near the Fourth Avenue and Pacific Street Station around 11.30 pm on Thursday, April 6. Collazo's friend pulled the train's brake as a "prank," which led to a dispute between Collazo and Smith. Smith then allegedly took out a knife and stabbed Collazo in the abdomen. Collazo was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
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'Pulls out a knife, hits him, stabs him'
"So what we have is Collazo and his friends, they’re on the platform," NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said, as per the NY Post. "They finally get on a train as it pulls in about a quarter after 11. "His friend pulls the thing. This guy confronts him, 'What the hell did you do that for?' " Essig said of the brake "prank" which typically causes a delay for riders. "There’s sort of a scrum, pulls out a knife, hits him, stabs him."
The chief mentioned that Smith has a criminal record, including arrests for robbery in 2020, assault in 2019, and another assault in 2016. Witnesses to the incident, including Collazo's friends, identified Smith as the assailant, according to Essig. "It’s a stupid kid prank," Essig said of the motive. Essig added that one of Collazo's friends was also stabbed during the incident, but his injuries were not severe.
'He’s my only son'
Isaiah Collazo was originally from Brooklyn and had been living with his father on Staten Island since the past two years. Prior to that, he had been living in Florida at his mother's. According to the police, Collazo had no criminal record, and in his free time, he usually stayed at home playing video games. Collazo's father, Carlos, was heartbroken and said he "was happy" because his son had started going out. "Anytime he wanted to go out, which was rare, I was happy. I was hoping he would meet a girl, just normal stuff kids do," he told Daily News. "It’s just overwhelming. He’s my only son. I don’t know what to do. I’m destroyed."
"My son wasn’t a street kid. He was home more than anything, and he was just out that day," Carlos said. "He was actually supposed to be home by then, and he wasn’t answering his phone. I was upset that he wasn’t home yet. And then this happened." He added, "He was a good-hearted kid. He had a great heart, my son. He’s never been in any real trouble or anything like that. He loved animals. He was just a good kid. He was into his video games, and he liked to box and stay fit. That’s just who he was."
'I told him I loved him'
The grief-stricken father recalled that he had spoken to his son on the day he was killed. "He said, ‘Dad, I’m going out. Can you drop me off at the bus?’ I dropped him off at the bus, and I asked him if he had any money ... to make sure he ate," said Carlos. "And he was like, ‘Yeah, Dad. I have money on me.’ So that’s where we left off. ... [I] just told him I loved him, and stuff. Like I always did."
Ever since Collazo had moved to New York, his father had advised him to avoid confrontations and walk away from provocations. "He wasn’t a violent or aggressive kid. He boxed when he was with his mom in Florida as a hobby, as a sport," said Carlos. "But I did always tell him, ‘You live in New York now. People don’t just argue. People will hurt you with a weapon or stuff like that.’ I just explained to him to just walk away from anything like that. It doesn’t make you less of a man to just walk away from an argument."
The incident occurred at a time when major crimes in the city's transit system are down this year, as compared to the same time span in 2022, with only 578 criminal complaints registered so far, as against 621 last year, which represents a nearly 7% decrease.