In 1984, 'Subway Vigilante' Bernhard Goetz shot four Black teenagers in New York City. The case divided the nation.

• In 1984, Bernhard Goetz opened fire on four Black men on the New York City subway.
• He was charged with attempted murder, assault, reckless endangerment, and weapon possession, but ended up serving less than a year in prison.

On December 22, 1984, Bronx-natives Barry Allen, Troy Canty, Darrell Cabey, and James Ramseur boarded an uptown-bound train in Manhattan. A few stops later, Bernhard Goetz, an electronics business owner, boarded the same train car along with roughly 20 other passengers.

Canty, who was 19-years-old at the time, reportedly approached Goetz, intending to ask for money. Canty and other witnesses reported that the request was phrased as "Can I have $5?" — Goetz testified he recalled Canty saying "give me $5."

Goetz pulled out a handgun and shot Allen, Canty, Ramseur, and Cabey, who was left with long-term brain damage and paralysis. Canty later reported that Goetz "paused for as long as 10 seconds after firing the first shot before firing again."

Directly after the shooting, the train conductor entered the train car to investigate what happened. Goetz told the conductor, "They tried to rob me and I shot them." The conductor tried to confiscate the handgun from Goetz, who refused to comply.

Goetz's subsequent arrest made headlines around the world. People had differing views on whether Goetz acted in self-defense, or whether this was racially motivated. Ultimately, a grand jury indicted Goetz on 13 charges: 4 counts of attempted murder, 4 counts of assault, 2 counts of criminal weapon possession, and reckless endangerment.

Goetz had applied for a license to carry a gun before the 1984 incident and was rejected, but continued to carry a handgun anyway.

Nine days after the attack, Goetz turned himself in and provided a confession to Concord, New Hampshire, police, saying: "When I saw what they intended for me, my intention was worse than shooting. My intention was to murder them, to hurt them, to make them suffer as much as possible."

The case polarized the country — while many saw Goetz's erratic response as a hate crime against four Black young men on public transportation, Goetz and his supporters maintained that he acted out of self-defense.

A Daily News poll in 1985 found that of 515 New Yorkers surveyed, 17% would award Goetz with a medal for his actions and 58% disagreed with the attempted murder charges. Despite his documented confessions to enact harm, public opinion still penned him as the "Subway Vigilante" as he garnered support.

Goetz was only convicted on one count of criminal weapon possession and ended up serving less than a year in prison.

A 1996 civil case between Bernhard Goetz and Darrell Cabey, however, resulted in the jury awarding Cabey $43 million in damages and found Goetz responsible for harm inflicted. Unable to make direct payments to Cabey, Goetz filed for bankruptcy and owed Cabey 10% of his yearly income for 20 years.

In the years since, Goetz and the 1984 case have faded into relative obscurity. On the 27th anniversary of the attack, one of the four victims, James Ramseur, took his own life in a Bronx motel room.

Since 1984, versions of public vigilantism have continued to polarize the public and test the legal system, most recently in the killing of Jordan Neely. The 24-year-old subway performer was put in a deadly chokehold by Daniel Penny, a former Marine. His death has reignited conversations about "vigilante justice."