Homeless NYC woman, 23, who smacked subway station cellist over head with metal water bottle is RELEASED

A homeless woman suspected of brutally attacking a cellist inside a New York City subway station will be released back on the streets. 

Amira Hunter, 23, was arrested Wednesday in connection to the February 13 attack on Iain Forrest, 29, a medical student who was playing his electric cello at the 34th Street Herald Square Station.

She appeared in New York Supreme Court on Thursday, dressed in a beige jacket with a fur collar and dark jeans, where Judge Marva Brown released her under supervision. Forrest was not present for the hearing. 

The judge cited her lack of a significant criminal history -despite seven prior arrests - for releasing her on the second-degree assault charge. 

In the shocking incident caught on video, a woman believed to be Hunter, strode over, picked up the metal water bottle Forrest had set on the ground and smashed it over his head as he was playing Titanium by Sia.

The bottle clattered to the ground as he clutched his head in pain and it left the musician fearing for his life. He believes the subway is too dangerous for him to continue performing.

Amira Hunter, 23, was arrested on Wednesday in connection to the February 13 attack on Iain Forrest, 29, inside a New York City subway stop. She was released after appearing in court on Thursday

Manhattan assistant district attorney Alexandra Roberston told the court Thursday that the case is set to be brought in front of a grand jury next week.

She asked the judge to set bail at $50,000 due to the fact the defendant was charged with a violent felony.

‘The cellist was playing before the defendant came from behind and struck him in the back of the head unprovoked,’ Roberston told the court.

‘It caused swelling as well as pain to the back of his head.’

But defense attorney Joseph Conza said: ‘I am asking the court to consider supervised release for my client.’

Roberston told the judge a restraining order was not needed because the victim and Hunter were strangers, which led to an outburst by the defendant.

‘That was not a stranger,’ she shouted. ‘What the f****.’ 

Outside the courtroom, she told reporters she knew the victim but did not know why she unleashed the attack.

Judge Brown ordered for her to be released under supervision and she was told to report to a shelter. Her next court appearance is scheduled for April 2.

The judge cited her lack of a significant criminal history -despite seven prior arrests - for releasing her on the second-degree assault charge

Her attorney told the judge a restraining order was not needed because the victim and Hunter were strangers, which led to an outburst by the defendant. ‘That was not a stranger,’ she shouted. ‘What the f****'

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

Forrest announced on Instagram on Sunday that he's formed a coalition with his fellow musicians called the Subway Performers Advocacy Group but says  for the time being, he will no 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 group's 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 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 released a video of the suspected attacker to help find the suspect. Hunter, who lives in Brooklyn, was later arrested on Wednesday.

She had seven prior arrests including for domestic violence, two for petty larceny and one for grand larceny, authorities said.

Forrest was playing electric cello in a Manhattan subway station when he was bludgeoned 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 Station. Forrest said the suspect fled the station and escaped into a nearby Macy's, evading NYPD officers

Video of the attack and the suspect was released and Hutner was arrested about two weeks after the attack 

Forrest is concerned that he can no longer perform on the subway without worrying his loved ones.

'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,' he said.

The incident marked 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.

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 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. '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, that woman fled the station and escaped into a nearby Macy's, where she evaded city police.

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

'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.

The incident marked the second time Forrest said he was attacked while performing in the last year

Outside the courtroom, Hunter told reporters she knew the victim but did not know why she unleashed the attack

Forrest is a member of the MTA's Music Under New York program, which schedules musical performances in transit hubs throughout the city.

He performs under the moniker 'Eyeglasses,' playing electric cello covers in addition to writing his own music.

The musician 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.