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Four NYC subway slashings over the weekend, after Gov. Hochul touts exceptionally safe 2025
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Dec 22, 2025
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Deb Cohn-Orbach/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Dec 22, 2025
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Police are investigating four separate subway slashings that left passengers with injuries over the weekend — even as officials are touting major drops in subway crime this year.
NYPD officials said the first incident happened Friday night around 7:20 p.m. on the northbound 1 train platform at Broadway and 96th Street on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Officers responding to a 911 call about an assault found a 23-year-old man who had been stabbed once in the back after some kind of dispute, police said.
Emergency medical workers took him to a local hospital in stable condition, and police said the perpetrator — who they described as a slim man dressed in all black — fled on the northbound 1 train. The NYPD recovered a knife at the scene, and officials said it seemed like the two men didn’t know each other.
Another stabbing happened hours later, in Queens, according to police. Just after 2 a.m. Saturday, a 40-year-old man was approached by a male stranger on a southbound R train at the Steinway Street subway station in Astoria. Officials said they got into an argument, and the perpetrator pulled out a knife and stabbed the victim several times in his torso and left leg.
The victim got off the train and was taken to Elmhurst Hospital in stable condition, police said. Police said the attacker stayed on board the train, and officials published a photo of the person they’re seeking, asking the public to look out for him. He was last seen wearing a beige jacket, blue shirt, black pants and black sneakers, police said.
The third weekend incident happened around 5 p.m. Saturday on a subway train at Grand Central Station, police said. Officers found a 38-year-old man who had been slashed once in the head after arguing with another man over a seat, according to officials. Emergency medical workers took him to Bellevue hospital in stable condition, and police said they were looking out for a male person of interest wearing a gray sweater and a green hat.
About an hour later, a 15-year-old male was slashed in the arm at the A/C/E subway station at 42nd Street and 8th Avenue, according to the NYPD. Officials said it happened after a verbal dispute that turned physical, and said the teen did not know the perpetrators. First responders took the teen to Mount Sinai West hospital in stable condition.
Police later arrested two 17-year-old boys in connection with the attack, and charged them with assault, reckless endangerment and harassment. Officials said one of the boys was also charged with menacing. The NYPD did not identify them.
The violence came just days after city and state leaders called 2025 one of the safest years on record for transit in New York City, and recommitted funding and resources to help keep crime down in the system. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced her office would earmark another $77 million to support overtime for NYPD officers assigned to patrol subway platforms as ridership has climbed back up to more than 4 million people per day.
“This is not a celebration moment, but is a continuation of what we know is working,” Hochul said. “Because every headline, every story, every time there's even one incident, it does create that sense of insecurity, which we want to alleviate.”
Tagged
new york city
public safety
transportation
Brittany Kriegstein
Brittany Kriegstein covers all breaking news around New York City, with a focus on crime and gun violence. Got a tip? Email Brittany at [email protected].
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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