Shooting Suspect Fails to Respond to Indictment

The man accused of opening fire on a crowded commuter train appeared in court Wednesday but refused to respond to the 93-count indictment charging him with killing six passengers and wounding 19 others.

Nassau County Judge Donald Belfi entered a plea of not guilty on Colin A. Ferguson’s behalf.

A grand jury indictment handed up Tuesday charges Ferguson with murder, attempted murder, 25 counts of civil rights violations and other crimes in the Dec. 7 Long Island Rail Road shootings.

Ferguson, 36, would not even say his name aloud, unlike prior appearances in which he addressed the court at length about purported ailments and a desire to change attorneys. Belfi sent Ferguson to jail to await trial.

Anthony Falanga, his court-appointed attorney, said he would ask to have the trial moved because police had charged publicly that Ferguson, of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, specifically targeted his attack on Nassau County. The county lies just outside New York City.