Suspect in Port Authority Subway Shooting Suddenly Freed with No Bail
DA now says evidence collected so far can’t link suspect to firearm. One bullet casing was recovered at the scene, but who fired the shot that created panic in the subway station remains a mystery.
| 08 Dec 2025 | 03:54
Police recovered a single 9mm shell casing after a shot was fired in the Port Authority subway station that sent people running on the evening of Dec. 1. But the DA’s office released the prime suspect when they said video evidence did not support charges. (
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Police initially detained two 18-year-old suspects after a shot rang rang out in the crowded Port Authority subway station on Dec. 1. The Manhattan district attorney’s office said initially it was pressing attempted murder and other charges against one of the men.
Then after the suspect spent three days on Rikers Island after he was unable to post bail, he was suddenly freed on his own recognizance with no bail requirement. The DA’s office said video surveillance does not establish that he was the shooter.
Ronald Gutierrez, who was born in Ecuador, was initially charged with a number of felonies, including attempted murder, attempted assault, and criminal possession of a weapon.
The police in the original charging document said they saw Gutierrez arguing with another person in the mezzanine level above the platform for the A, C, and E subway station at Seventh Avenue and 42nd Street. Police initially said they saw Gutierrez raise his arm with what appeared to be a firearm and discharge one shot. Now that case appears to be falling apart.
No charges were filed against Carlos Loyo Jhean, who was originally detained by police after the incident. “We declined to prosecute this matter as we continue to investigate,” a spokesperson for the DA told Straus News.
But now the charges against Gutierrez have been dropped as well.
Police did say they recovered a single 9mm shell casing from the scene but now are unsure who fired the shot. The judge initially set bail at $40,000 cash or $100,000 insurance company bond / partially secured surety bond.
Gutierrez is not due back in court until Feb. 11.
Said a spokesperson for the DA: “Video surveillance from inside the subway station captures the defendant at the scene of the incident immediately beforehand running with several other people pursuing an unknown group of individuals through the station, with his hand inside a black fanny pack worn across his chest. The video also depicts both the individual defendant was running with and an individual in the group the defendant was pursuing reaching inside of backpacks each carried at the same time.
“Several witnesses reported hearing one gunshot at the location, but neither the defendant nor the two others described above are depicted on video at the moment the gunshot was fired ,” a DA spokesperson said.
“While the People have conducted a thorough investigation over the last three days, further investigation is required, since the evidence collected so far does not establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant fired that gunshot or otherwise possessed a loaded and operable firearm.”
Gutierrez is being defended by Maria Rodriguez in the public defenders office. “I’m not making any comment at this time,” said Rodriguez when reached by Straus News.