New York City police are searching for 6 subway train joyriders

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City police are searching for a group of people they say took a subway train on a joyride.

The department released images and video Wednesday of six individuals who they say commandeered an unoccupied “R” train over the weekend.

Surveillance video from inside the train shows the group, who all wore jackets with their hoods up, as they exited the conductor’s compartment and walked through the otherwise empty car.

A video of the group on their joyride was also shared on Instagram, the Daily News reports.

The clip shows one of them seated at the controls while another appears to be sitting on the outside of the car, their legs dangling over the edge.

“Cover your faces. Cover your faces,” one of them says on the video as the train accelerates through the tunnel.

The department said Thursday that they believe the joyride occurred around 10 p.m. Saturday at the 36th Street and 4th Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn.

Police and transit officials have not said how long and how far the suspects travelled in the stolen train. They said the suspects damaged glass panels on the train’s camera.

The group fled on foot, according to police. No injuries were reported.

Spokespersons for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said they are working with police on the investigation.

Police are offering a reward of up to $3,500 for any information about the suspects, who are wanted for reckless endangerment.

Janno Lieber, MTA’s chairman, denounced the unacceptable lapses that led to the train theft.

He said the transit agency should invest in trains with better security technology than just a simple lock and key as it upgrades its fleet.

“I’m burned about this,” Liber said Wednesday. “Failure of security, failure of the supervision and monitoring process that needs to be able to stop a train that’s operating that’s not supposed to be operating.”

Police in September said two teens took an empty subway train in Queens on a brief joyride before crashing it and fleeing.