Bernhard Goetz is an American man best known for shooting four young African American men who tried to mug him on a New York City Subway

New York City Subway

The New York City Subway is a rapid transit system owned by the City of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority, a subsidiary agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and also known as MTA New York City Transit...

 train, resulting in his conviction for illegal possession of a firearm. He came to symbolize New Yorkers’ frustrations with the high crime

Crime

Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...

 rates of the early 1980s. The incident occurred on a 2 train

2 (New York City Subway service)

The 2 Seventh Avenue Express is a rapid transit service of the New York City Subway. It is colored red on station signs, route signs, and the official subway map, since it uses the IRT Broadway – Seventh Avenue Line through most of Manhattan....

 in Manhattan on . It sparked a nationwide debate on vigilantism, the perceptions of race and crime in major cities, and the legal limits of self-defense

Self-defense

Self-defense, self-defence or private defense is a countermeasure that involves defending oneself, one's property or the well-being of another from physical harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in times of danger is available in many...

.

Goetz fired an unlicensed revolver

Revolver

A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

 five times, seriously wounding all the alleged muggers.