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'HEARTBROKEN' NYC SUBWAY CELLIST WHO WAS WHACKED WITH A METAL WATER BOTTLE BY
STRANGER SAYS HE'S DONE WITH PLATFORM PERFORMANCES AFTER SECOND SHOCKING ASSAULT
IN FRONT OF STRAPHANGERS IN ONE YEAR

By Stephen M. Lepore For Dailymail.Com 03:06 19 Feb 2024, updated 12:17 19 Feb
2024


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 * Iain Forrest, 29, was bludgeoned over the head by a stranger with a water
   bottle
 * He says it's the second time he's been attacked while performing in a year 
 * Musicians are launching an advocacy group but Forrest says he'll no longer
   play 

The cellist who was bludgeoned over the head by a stranger wielding a water
bottle as he performed in the New York City subway last week says he's done
playing on platforms.

Iain Forrest, 29, a medical student and musician, was playing his electric cello
at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of February 13. 

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In a shocking moment caught on video, an unidentified woman strode over, picked
up the metal water bottle he'd set on the ground and smashed it over his head.
The bottle clattered to the ground as Forrest clutched his head in pain. 



Forrest announced on Instagram earlier Sunday that he's formed a coalition with
his fellow musicians called the Subway Performers Advocacy Group (SPAG) but says
that for the time being, he will longer entertain underground. 

'[I]t does kind of break my heart that this is something that has to stop
indefinitely, barring some sort of systemic change with protection for
performances in the subway,' he said.

The cellist who was bludgeoned over the head by a stranger wielding a water
bottle as he performed in the New York City subway last week says he's done
performing on platforms


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SPAG's stated goal is to ask the MTA and NYPD to track statistics of crimes
against subway musicians so that police resources can be 'smartly allocated to
where they are needed to prevent attacks.'

Forrest, who said that his attacker who got away 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 hit him.

'I couldn't quite get my bearings and it was only when I saw my metal water
bottle rolling around on the ground and I saw the crowd's face - in awe,
disbelief and shock - that I realized, I think someone just smashed the back of
my head with my metal water bottle,' he said. 

Police have released video of the suspected attacker that Forrest - who is also
studying medicine - shared to Instagram. 

He's concerned that he can no longer perform on the subway without worrying his
loved ones.

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'I've got a wife. I've got a family and friends that care about me and I don't
know what they would do if I was gone,' Forrest said. 

As Forrest has previously said, it's the second time he was attacked while
performing in the last year. 

A man beat and choked him and broke his electric cello's battery before making
off with both his cash and the instrument last May. 

Iain Forrest, 29, a medical student and musician, was playing his electric cello
at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of February 13 In a
shocking moment caught on video, an unidentified woman strode over, picked up
the metal water bottle he'd set on the ground and smashed it over his head. The
bottle clattered to the ground as Forrest clutched his head in pain


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Rendell Robinson, 40, was arrested and charged with robbery and remains in a
cell at Rikers Island in connection with the case, which is still pending. 

Forrest said that the MTA assigned a police officer to watch over him for a
month or two after the attack but it eventually stopped. 

'That has been happening too much, and it's almost been normalized as an
acceptable 'risk' to essentially this occupation,' he said. 

'And I think that's something that should be brought attention to and should be
tracked better in terms of the numbers and where these things are happening.'

Forrest wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the woman fled the station and
escaped into a nearby Macy's, where she evaded city police.

Forrest was playing electric cello in a Manhattan subway station when an
unidentified woman bludgeoned him over the head with a metal water bottle The
medical student and performer was attacked on the evening of February 13 at
the 34th Street Herald Square StationForrest said the woman fled the station and
escaped into a nearby Macy's, evading NYPD officers Forrest is wrapping up his
MD-PHD studies at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of Medicine

'This marks the second attack I've endured in less than a year while performing
for New Yorkers in subway stations,' the performer wrote on social media.

'I don't think I can do this anymore. I'm suspending subway performances
indefinitely.'

He was coincidentally treated for his first attack at Mount Sinai, the same
hospital where he attends medical school.

Police say they are searching for a woman in relation to the latest attack last
seen wearing a mustard yellow jacket, black beanie and red scarf. 

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'No one in the transit system, including the musicians, should be subjected to
violence, and when the NYPD catches up to 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 schedules
musical performances in transit hubs throughout the city.

The 27-year-old performs under the moniker 'Eyeglasses,' playing electric cello
covers in addition to writing his own music.

Police say they are searching for the perpetrator of the latest attack, who was
last seen wearing a mustard jacket, black beanie and red scarf In addition to
his studies, Forrest is a member of the MTA's Music Under New York program He
got his start playing in the subway before giving a breakout performance at
Radio City Music Hall in 2020 and playing during the New York Yankees' opening
game in 2022

He was discovered playing in the subway and gave a debut performance at Radio
City Music Hall with singer-songwriter Josh Groban in 2020.

Two years later, the 29-year-old performed during the New York Yankees' opening
game at Yankee Stadium. 

In addition to his musical pursuits, Forrest is finishing an MD-PhD at the Icahn
School of Medicine at Mount Sinai after earning his PhD in May.


SHARE OR COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE: 'HEARTBROKEN' NYC SUBWAY CELLIST WHO WAS
WHACKED WITH A METAL WATER BOTTLE BY STRANGER SAYS HE'S DONE WITH PLATFORM
PERFORMANCES AFTER SECOND SHOCKING ASSAULT IN FRONT OF STRAPHANGERS IN ONE YEAR

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1 / 10
The cellist who was bludgeoned over the head by a stranger wielding a water
bottle as he performed in the New York City subway last week says he's done
performing on platforms
2 / 10
Iain Forrest, 29, a medical student and musician, was playing his electric cello
at the 34th Street Herald Square Station on the evening of February 13
3 / 10
In a shocking moment caught on video, an unidentified woman strode over, picked
up the metal water bottle he'd set on the ground and smashed it over his head.
The bottle clattered to the ground as Forrest clutched his head in pain
4 / 10
Forrest was playing electric cello in a Manhattan subway station when an
unidentified woman bludgeoned him over the head with a metal water bottle
5 / 10
The medical student and performer was attacked on the evening of February 13 at
the 34th Street Herald Square Station
6 / 10
Forrest said the woman fled the station and escaped into a nearby Macy's,
evading NYPD officers
7 / 10
Forrest is wrapping up his MD-PHD studies at Mount Sinai's Icahn School of
Medicine
8 / 10
Police say they are searching for the perpetrator of the latest attack, who was
last seen wearing a mustard jacket, black beanie and red scarf
9 / 10
In addition to his studies, Forrest is a member of the MTA's Music Under New
York program
10 / 10
He got his start playing in the subway before giving a breakout performance at
Radio City Music Hall in 2020 and playing during the New York Yankees' opening
game in 2022



>
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