By Stephen M. Lepore for Dailymail.Com 03:06 February 19, 2024, updated 12:17 February 19, 2024
- Iain Forrest, 29, was hit over the head with a water bottle by a stranger
- He says it's the second time in a year he's been attacked during a performance
- Musicians form an interest group, but Forrest says he won't play anymore
The cellist who was hit in the head with a water bottle by a stranger while performing on the New York subway last week says he's tired of playing on platforms.
Iain Forrest, 29, a medical student and musician, played his electric cello at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of February 13th.
In a shocking moment captured on video, an unknown woman came over, picked up the metal water bottle he had placed on the ground and smashed it over his head. The bottle clattered to the floor as Forrest clutched his head in pain.
Forrest announced on Instagram earlier Sunday that he has formed a coalition with his fellow musicians called the Subway Performers Advocacy Group (SPAG), but says he will continue performing underground longer for now.
'[I]“It kind of breaks my heart that this is something that has to stop indefinitely unless there is a systemic change with protections for performing on the subway,” he said.
The cellist who was hit in the head with a water bottle by a stranger while performing on the New York subway last week says he is tired of performing on platforms
SPAG's stated goal is to ask the MTA and NYPD to collect statistics on crimes against subway musicians so that police resources can be “intelligently deployed where they are needed to prevent attacks.”
Forrest, who said his escaped attacker still hasn't been caught, told the New York Daily News he didn't understand what exactly had happened to him until the attacker literally beat him.
“I couldn't quite get my bearings and it wasn't until I saw my metal water bottle rolling around on the floor and I saw the face of the crowd – full of awe, disbelief and shock – that I realized that I think someone was watching my back hit my head with my metal water bottle,” he said.
Police released a video of the alleged attacker, which Forrest – who is also studying medicine – shared on Instagram.
He fears that he will no longer be able to appear on the subway without worrying his loved ones.
“I have a wife.” “I have family and friends that care about me and I don't know what they would do if I was gone,” Forrest said.
As Forrest said, this is the second time in the last year that he has been attacked during a performance.
A man beat and choked him and destroyed the battery on his electric cello before making off with his cash and the instrument last May.
Iain Forrest, 29, a medical student and musician, played his electric cello at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of Feb. 13. In a shocking moment captured on video, an unknown woman came over and picked up the metal water bottle he was carrying, dropped it to the ground and smashed it over his head. The bottle clattered to the floor as Forrest clutched his head in pain
Rendell Robinson, 40, was arrested and charged with robbery and remains in a cell at Rikers Island in connection with the pending case.
Forrest said the MTA assigned a police officer to look after him for a month or two after the attack, but the attack eventually stopped.
“This has happened too often and it has essentially been normalized as an acceptable 'risk' for this profession,” he said.
“And I think that's something that should be brought to attention and better tracked in terms of the numbers and where these things are happening.”
Forrest wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the woman fled the train station and fled to a nearby Macy's, where she evaded city police.
Forrest was playing the electric cello in a Manhattan subway station when an unknown woman hit him in the head with a metal water bottle. The medical student and artist was attacked at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of February 13th. Forrest said the woman fled the station and took refuge in a nearby Macy's to elude NYPD officers. Forrest is completing his MD-PHD degree at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
“This is the second attack I have suffered in less than a year while performing for New Yorkers in subway stations,” the artist wrote on social media.
“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” “I’m suspending the subway performances indefinitely.”
Coincidentally, he was treated for his first seizure at Mount Sinai, the same hospital where he is attending medical school.
Police say they are searching for a woman in connection with the latest attack, who was last seen wearing a mustard yellow jacket, a black hat and a red scarf.
“No one on public transit, including musicians, should be subjected to violence, and if the NYPD catches the person who committed this senseless attack, they will be held accountable,” the Metropolitan Transit Authority wrote in a statement.
Forrest is a member of the MTA's Music Under New York program, which plans musical performances at transportation hubs throughout the city.
The 27-year-old performs under the pseudonym “Eyeglasses”, plays electric cello covers and writes his own music.
Police say they are searching for the perpetrator of the latest attack, who was last seen wearing a mustard-colored jacket, a black hat and a red scarf. In addition to his studies, Forrest is a member of the MTA's Music Under New York program. He began playing music on the subway before giving a breakout performance at Radio City Music Hall in 2020 and playing at the New York Yankees' opening game in 2022
He was discovered playing on the subway and made his debut performance at Radio City Music Hall in 2020 with singer-songwriter Josh Groban.
Two years later, the 29-year-old appeared at the New York Yankees' opening game at Yankee Stadium.
In addition to his musical pursuits, Forrest is completing his MD-PhD studies at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, having earned his doctorate in May.