After Adrian Napier, 19, jumped a subway turnstile and boarded a train in Brooklyn on Friday, he was surrounded by New York City police officers who drew their weapons on the unarmed black teenager.

According to reports, the teen was calmly seated with his hands raised when officers holding guns approached him. Other officers, waiting on the platform for the train to stop, also had their weapons out. When the subway doors opened, roughly 10 police officers entered and tackled Napier to the floor, alleging that he might have been armed.

Many of the subway passengers panicked and dispersed when they saw the armed police, others fled when the subway car doors opened. Critics say it was unnecessary for the police to draw their weapons and create panic among the passengers.

Elad Nehorai, who recorded the incident, told the Daily Dot that he began filming when he saw the officers looking through all of the cars. He said that once the officers spotted Napier, they drew their guns.

The New York City Police Department said in a statement to NBC 4 New York that officers were responding to “an alert for a male with a gun,” based on witness reports. Officers told the news station that when they approached the teen, he jumped a turnstile and boarded a southbound train. He was charged with theft of service.

The incident has alarmed city residents since NYPD officers have been involved in at least 11 fatal shootings so far this year. The video of Napier’s arrest, which has gone viral, further inflamed some commuters, who have condemned the city’s attempt to combat fare evasion, which includes plans to recruit 500 more transit officers for the city’s subway stations. The officers won’t be required to wear body cameras.

“This man didn’t pay his subway fare — but is tackled by at least ten officers in a crowded station,” Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro wrote on Twitter Sunday. “Officers should be working to deescalate —not putting dozens of lives at risk over $2.75.”

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Criminal justice advocates say that arrests for fare evasion target people of color and inevitably punish people who cannot afford a subway ride. In June, a video of a man’s arrest went viral after police held him down at a Queens subway station over fare evasion. Meanwhile, the city claims that fare evasion will cost the city $260 million this year alone, according to CBS New York.