NYC straphanger is stabbed twice by a stranger in unprovoked Sunday afternoon attack: More than 277 subway assaults have occurred in the city this year so far
A man was stabbed twice in a random attack on board a downtown train in Manhattan on Sunday, capping off a bloody weekend in the city's crime-ridden subway system, which has seen close to 300 violent incidents so far this year.
The 31-year-old victim was on a southbound 6 train approaching Canal Street at 6.10pm when police say a stranger plunged a knife twice into his arm without any apparent provocation.
The attacker remained on the train as it continued on its way to Brooklyn, while the victim got off at the Canal Street station, where photographs showed his blood staining walls and floors.
The knifed man, who has not been named, was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.
Bloody Sunday: A stabbing victim's blood stains the wall and floor at the Canal Street station in Manhattan on Sunday night
Police say the 31-year-old victim was riding a southbound 6 train when he was attacked without any provocation by a knife-wielding stranger, who stabbed him twice in the arm
Police officers are seen investigating at the scene of Sunday's stabbing, which capped off a violent weekend in the city's sprawling subway system
Police say the suspect, who fled, was last seen wearing a colorful vest over a grey hoodie. He has not been arrested as of Monday
A police officer emerges from the No 6 Canal Street Station on Sunday, following the random stabbing that sent the victim to the hospital in stable condition
The suspect, believed to be a man in his 30s, was described as wearing a colorful vest over a gray hoodie. He has not been arrested as of Monday morning.
Sunday's incident came after a violent Saturday, which saw four people assaulted in the subway system in a single day.
A man was standing on the A-C-E platform in the 168th Street station in Manhattan when police say he was stabbed by two teens during a botched robbery attempt.
Another man was riding a southbound train in Morningside Heights when he was knifed after asking a stranger to stop smoking.
According to the latest data from the New York City Police Department, since the beginning of the year, there have been 276 instances of crime in the subway system, which represent a 65 percent increase compared to the same period in 2021.
As of January 1, there have been 276 instances of crime in NYC's subway system - up 65 percent compared to the same period last year
New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced last month he was injecting more police officers into the subway system, not only having officers riding trains but having other neighborhood patrol officers spend more time in stations and on platforms.
The crackdown was spurred by a string of violent incidents in the transit network, including the death of a woman who was pushed in front of a train in January and a fresh incident last Thursday, when a man breakdancing on a train was wounded when he was stabbed twice by another man who then fled.
In the case of the fatal shoving of Michelle Alyssa Go, police said the suspect, Martial Simon, was homeless and had a history of 'emotionally disturbed encounters.'
Adams encountered incidents himself on his first day as mayor, when he witnessed a fight and at least one person sleeping on a train as he made a point of commuting on the subway to City Hall.
'Who wants to start their day that way? Of that level of despair that’s right in front of them?' the mayor said on Friday when unveiling a new initiative to combat homelessness in the subway system, which he likened to a 'cancerous sore.'
Mayor Eric Adams announced last month he was injecting more police officers into the subway system
Adams and Gov Kathy Hochul on Friday unveiled a plan to combat homelessness in the subway by barring people from sleeping on trains
Police statistics show major felonies in the subways have dropped over the last two years, but the numbers are difficult to compare with ridership numbers having dropped as well.
'People tell me about their fear of using the system and we are going to ensure that fear is not New York’s reality,' Adams said.
Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said starting next week, the police department’s officers will be joined by mental health workers in the subways. The teams will focus on high-traffic areas or areas where there have been increased reports of crime.
'Trained people will look to assist those in need. We will enforce transit rules when necessary, but this is about helping people,' she said.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who joined Adams at a subway station on Friday to announce a plan to start barring people from sleeping on trains or riding the same lines all night, said the city and state can’t recover from the devastation of the pandemic until people return to their jobs — and ride the subway to get there.
'We know it’s a big problem. But shame on us if this moment in time, if we don’t turn over every single stone, find every possible way to to deal with this,' Hochul said.
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