Gunman accused of fatally shooting man during NYC subway station clash gives up after 9 days on the run: cops

The gunman accused of fatally shooting a man during a heated Bronx subway station clash – marking the first transit murder of the year – surrendered to cops after nine days on the lam, cops said. 

Alberto Frias, 27, turned himself in at the 44th Precinct station house Thursday and now faces a second-degree murder charge for allegedly blasting Adrian Dawodu in the upper right thigh on the southbound platform of the 170th Street B and D subway station Feb. 10, police said. 

Frias, who also faces manslaughter and weapon possession charges, was ordered held without bail during his arraignment hours later. 

The deadly melee erupted when Dawodu – a known “emotionally disturbed person” – was “pacing back and forth” on the platform and ultimately came to blows with Frias, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said last week. 

“They finally confront each other and they square off to fight,” Kenny said. “A fist fight breaks out, but as the guy comes off the bench, our eventual shooter pulls out the pistol and displays it.” 

But the victim seemed unfazed by the weapon, the chief added. 

“He goes right for [Frias],” he said. “He starts throwing lefts, and he’s winning. He’s winning the fight. Our victim is winning the fight. He almost throws our guy onto the platform, our victim here starts swinging, and he’s getting the better of the victim.” 

“The fight extends all the way down the platform, probably about like 25 feet,” the chief added. “They come together, and this is where our victim gets shot.”

Dawodu was rushed to Lincoln Medical Center, where he bled to death of a gunshot wound to his right upper thigh that pierced his femoral artery.

Meanwhile, Frias frantically ran back to his apartment, where he changed his clothes and met up with his girlfriend and another relative who ordered him a Lyft, the chief said. 

But in his frenzy, a shell casing apparently fell out of his clothes and was left behind in his apartment, Kenny added. 

Frias has five prior arrests, four in Westchester and one in the Big Apple for criminal possession of a weapon back in 2016, authorities said. 

Dawodu was known as a menace at the station where the murder happened – “always on the platform, constantly yelling and screaming at people,” Kenny said. 

The two men did not know each other, the chief added.

Frias is due back in court Tuesday.

The slaying comes amid a spike in overall felony crime in the city’s transit system so far in 2026.

Major crime, such as murder and rape, on subways and buses surged 17%, to 246 so far this year from 210 in the same period in 2025.

Robbery skyrocketed 58%, to 60 from 38, and assaults spiked 9%, to 71 from 65, according to NYPD data through Feb. 8.

Additional reporting by Tina Moore and Joe Marino