Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
3 Train Rider Slashed In The Face In Brooklyn
By
Emma Whitford
Published Feb 2, 2016
Modified Feb 2, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Emma Whitford
Published Feb 2, 2016
Modified Feb 2, 2016
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A 37-year-old man allegedly slashed a fellow straphanger across the chin with a knife on a northbound 3 train in Brooklyn on Monday afternoon, after throwing hot coffee onto his victim's back and shouting, "Wanna fight?"
As of this week, there have been eight reported slashings in the NYC subway. For comparison, there were three subway slashings over the same time period last year, according to the Post.
Stephen Brathwaite approached 30-year-old Steve Jean Baptiste around 12:30 p.m. on Monday, on the northbound 3 train platform at Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York, according to the criminal complaint. Police say Brathwaite dumped his hot coffee on Baptiste, apparently without provocation, and asked him if he wanted to fight.
Brathwaite and Baptiste boarded the 3 train together, according to the NYPD. Between Pennsylvania Avenue and Junius Street, the next local stop, Brathwaite allegedly took a knife out of his pocket and slashed Baptiste across the chin. Brathwaite was arrested at Utica Avenue in Crown Heights just before 1:00 p.m. Police say that a knife was recovered from the 3 train at Nevins Street, three express stops away.
Baptiste was treated at Kings County Hospital. According to the complaint, the gash left him in "substantial pain," and in fear of further injury.
Brathwaite was indicted Tuesday morning, and has been charged with assault, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon, and harassment. His next court date is set for February 5th. He's currently incarcerated with $2,500 bail.
As of late: 71-year-old Carmen Rivera was slashed in the face on a D train in Greenwich Village last Monday; 32-year-old Christopher Santiago was slashed on a 6 train as it passed through Harlem on Tuesday night; Ras Alula Nagarit was arrested for allegedly slashing a 29-year-old woman on a 3 train also on Tuesday night; and a 27-year-old man was slashed on the southbound 2 platform at the 110th Street station near Lenox Avenue early Sunday morning.
Hours before Baptiste was slashed, NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton appeared on the John Gambling Show on AM 970, describing the uptick in subway slashings as an "aberration."
“I’m quite comfortable that this increase in slashings that we saw on the subway and in fact a small increase in the city overall, is an aberration,” he said. “We’ll deal with it, and as we go forward in the year those numbers will decline.”
Speaking at a Manhattan South Compstat meeting last week, NYPD brass said they were interested in pitching the MTA a plan that would ban "career criminals" from the subway.
Tagged
3 train
brooklyn
MTA
slashing
subway
Emma Whitford
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
New Yorkers are paying $300 million for natural gas they don't even use
A new study found that nearly 2% of the city's natural gas is leaking into the air and causing climate pollution.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
Because the vote against it was unanimous, here are your early links: Jacket weather, swishing your Guinness, spooky decorations in North Jersey and more.
By
James Ramsay
News
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
Because the vote against it was unanimous, here are your early links: Jacket weather, swishing your Guinness, spooky decorations in North Jersey and more.
By
James Ramsay
Hit-and-run driver arrested trying to flee to Uzbekistan after deadly crash, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
NY measles outbreak more widespread than official count, health officials say
By
Caroline Lewis
A NYC judge brought his gun into court for an ‘experiment’. Now he’s censured.
By
Samantha Max
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .