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Four Arrested In Subway Slashing Spree That Wounded Five Riders
By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 14, 2021
Modified May 14, 2021
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By
Jake Offenhartz
Published May 14, 2021
Modified May 14, 2021
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Police have arrested four people in connection with a slashing and robbery spree that left five people injured — including a man who was stabbed in the eye — aboard Manhattan subways early Friday morning.
The suspects — who ranged in age from 17 to 19-years-old — were taken into custody at the West 79th Street subway station just before noon, roughly five hours following the attacks. Transit officers recognized the group from security footage that captured some of the incident, police said.
Over the span of just 30 minutes on Friday morning, the knife-wielding crew allegedly slashed four riders in the face, and punched a fifth person.
"They were pairing off as the train was moving," NYPD Assistant Chief Jason Wilcox said at a press conference announcing the arrests.
In the first incident aboard the southbound 4 train, the group approached a 44-year-old man and slashed him in the face, police said. The victim exited at Union Square, as the group continued riding.
Before the train had gotten to its next stop at Astor Place, the suspects had allegedly slashed another victim in the nose and punched a third man in the face. Five minutes after that, as the train neared the Brooklyn Bridge stop, a member of the group allegedly slashed another rider in the cheek, taking his cell phone and wallet.
At around 5 a.m., police said, a fifth person told police that he had been approached by a group and stabbed in the right eye near the 59th Street-Columbus Circle station.
The crime spree quickly drew calls from MTA and union officials to add more police to the subways, a common refrain pushed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, as more New Yorkers return to the system.
While overall transit crime is down by nearly half since last year, felony assaults have increased by 25% in the subway system.
In response to a series of stabbings earlier this year, the city surged 500 more NYPD officers into the system, and more recently agreed to add auxiliary cops to the system's busiest stations.
But the ongoing animus between the Cuomo-controlled transit board and Mayor Bill de Blasio has showed no signs of receding. In a statement sent on Friday, NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg claimed that de Blasio was to blame for the slashings.
"The responsibility for these vicious attacks does not fall on an already strapped police department – it falls on City Hall and the individuals who are taking advantage of the mayor’s negligence on the issue," she said.
In response, Bill Neidhardt, a spokesperson for the mayor, said the city had put "massive resources into this fight to keep our subways safe," including roughly 3,000 NYPD officers.
"Meanwhile the MTA sends out statements that point fingers and talk about mayoral politics," Neidhardt added. "Get with the program, help us fight back this crime."
The charges against the four suspects are pending, police said.
Additional reporting by Emily Lang.
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Jake Offenhartz
Jake Offenhartz is a former Gothamist reporter.
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