Elliot Williams revisits the subway vigilante, the 1984 New York City subway shooting involving Bernard Goetz.

In 1984, a shooting on a New York City subway thrust Bernie Goetz into the center of the national spotlight. After opening ...

In his criminal trial, Goetz was acquitted of the most serious charges, including attempted murder. The defense persuaded the jury that Goetz’s self-incriminating statements to the police — “I was ...

Elliot Williams, a CNN legal analyst and frequent commentator for other outlets, wrote “Five Bullets” about the 1984 subway shooting.

In Fear and Fury, historian Heather Ann Thompson revisits Bernhard Goetz's shooting of four Black teens — and explains how the incident reshaped criminal justice, national policy and media coverage.