A beloved Brooklyn security guard known for his faith and kindness was brutally beaten to death in a random subway attack after he held a door open for the man who killed him, police said.
Nicola “Nick” Tanzi, 64, was working at the Jay Street–MetroTech subway station on Tuesday when he was attacked by 25-year-old David Mazariegos, according to New York City police.
Tanzi, originally from Bari, Italy, had lived in New York City for about two decades, and was a fixture in Brooklyn’s Italian community and a devoted parish volunteer. He was known for his warmth and acts of kindness, but when he held open the subway emergency gate for Mazariegos, he was allegedly met with rage.
Mazariegos admitted to killing the victim “because he didn’t like the way he looked at him,” officials told WABC. He allegedly pummeled, kicked, and stomped on Tanzi’s head up to 15 times before fleeing.
Paramedics rushed Tanzi to New York-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital in critical condition, but he was later pronounced dead.
Police circulated Mazariegos’ photo citywide before “eagle-eyed cops working near Times Square recognized this perp from the photos they had just received and immediately brought this dangerous criminal into custody,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch in a post on X.
At the time of his arrest, Mazariegos was allegedly carrying four of Tanzi’s credit cards, including one he had just used at a nearby Target, and a katana-style sword with a 20-inch blade.
Authorities said Mazariegos has 17 prior arrests, including for assault and petit larceny. He is being held without bail and faces charges including criminal possession of a weapon.
For Tanzi’s friends and neighbors, the violence was incomprehensible.
“He was always kind,” Carmine Racaro, co-owner of Flowers By Emil near Tanzi’s Bay Ridge apartment, told the New York Post. “Always kidding around. He was like family to us.”
At St. Athanasius-St. Dominic’s Parish in Bensonhurst where Tanzi volunteered as an usher and attended Italian Mass three times a week, grief quickly spread.
“Nicola is for all purposes, one of the most congenial, friendly individuals that you could ever meet,” Deacon Anthony Mammoliti said. “If you were his friend, that was something very, very powerful. He’ll do anything for his friends.”
He recalled seeing Tanzi just two weeks ago – holding the door open for him.
“He volunteered to be an usher to take up the collection, and to assist anyone to find their seats in the church, open doors for the elderly women, the normal good things you’d expect from people,” he said. “If I had to sum up Nicola, I’d say he tried to live his faith … If he had survived the attack, I can assure you from my interactions with Nicola, in time he would have forgiven his assailant.”
Tanzi was also a lifelong member of Sacred Hearts & St. Stephen Church in Carroll Gardens, where he grew up and where he carried the statue of Our Lady of Sorrows in yearly processions.
“Nick Tanzi was a gentle soul with a devotion to Maria Santissima Addolorata,” John Leo Heyer, a community member and funeral director at Scotto Funeral Home, posted on Facebook.
“This weekend he was brutally beaten to death on a NYC subway after holding the car door open for the very same man who would kill him.”
“We hear about senseless acts of violence in our large city and we go on with life because we have to,” Heyer continued. “I ask you to stop for a moment, pause and say a prayer for Nick and for all those victims of senseless violence… Bad things like this happen when good people do nothing. May Nick rest in peace reunited with his parents, amen.”
