Musician Takes Drastic Measure After NYC Station Attack: ‘I’m Suspending Subway Performances Indefinitely’

If you hold a Ph.D. in science and play the cello in a New York City subway as an artistic side gig, being a musician can be life-threatening.

Iain Forrest is an electric cellist who performs under the name Eyeglasses. His X profile says he published his first postdoc paper on coronary heart disease in the Lancet in 2022. Forrest plays his cello in the NYC subway. On Feb. 13, he was performing at the 34th Street Herald Square station and was ambushed in a surprise attack, according to WNYW-TV.

Welcome to the jungle.

Yesterday, I was attacked in the NYC subway. At 5:50 pm on February 14th, while performing at 34th St Herald Square station, a woman wearing a mustard jacket, red scarf, and gloves assaulted me by smashing the back of my head with my metal water bottle. pic.twitter.com/UpSl43yk3x

— Iain S. Forrest, PhD (@IainSForrest) February 14, 2024

Forrest was playing his cello while seated. Lost in the music, he had no idea a woman was standing in the background stalking him. The woman — dressed in a mustard-colored jacket, black beanie and red scarf — suddenly stepped up behind him, grabbed the metal water bottle on the floor next to Forrest and struck him in the back of the head.

The attack came out of the blue. Maybe the woman had an issue with mental illness — there’s a lot of that going around these days. Maybe she was hired for the attack. Maybe she was the friend of one of Forrest’s enemies. Who knows?

All Forrest can say for sure is that he did nothing to provoke the attack. What’s more, this isn’t the first time he has been attacked in the subway while playing.

Recounting the attack on Instagram, Forrest said, “This marks the second attack I’ve endured in less than a year while performing for New Yorkers in subway stations. I don’t think I can do this anymore. I’m suspending subway performances indefinitely.”