A commuter was slashed in the neck with a pocket knife on the platform of Manhattan’s Union Square station, in the latest subway attack in New York City.
The 45-year-old man was attacked after an argument broke out between him and and another man on the L line platform at around 4pm on Tuesday, police said.
The victim was slashed in the neck by the suspect, who was wearing black pants, a neon shirt, a black hat, reports NY Daily News.
Blood was seen on the floor of the station platform and the victim was taken to Bellevue hospital where he is now ‘conscious and alert’.
It comes after statistics revealed that there have been 119 felony assaults on New York City’s subway system since January – the highest number for the first three months of the year since 1998.
A commuter was slashed in the neck with a pocket knife on the platform of Manhattan’s Union Square station, in the latest subway attack in New York City. Pictured: police officers set up tape to stop the public from entering the platform
Blood was seen on the floor of the station platform and the victim was taken to Bellevue hospital where he is now ‘conscious and alert’
The 45-year-old man was attacked after an argument broke out between him and and another man on the L line platform at around 4pm on Tuesday. Pictured: Investigators speak to witnesses at the station
Eyewitness Maria Paz Alegre told the newspaper that police swarmed the station after the stabbing.
‘The platform was way more crowded than usual,’ she said. ‘A bunch of police officers started storming in.
‘One of them knelt down, my view was blocked by benches and people, so I didn’t see why he bent down. When his head popped up he yelled, “Everyone out! Get out!”‘
The stabbing is the latest in a string of attacks on the subway and statistics show the dangers of riding the New York City’s subway have dramatically increased in the last two years.
The victim was slashed in the neck by the suspect, who was wearing black pants, a neon shirt, a black hat. Pictured: Police inside the subway station, which was blocked off from the public
Blood can be seen on the floor and on the wall where the victim was slashed in the neck
Last weekend, five people – including two police officers- were violently attacked on the New York City subway in just a four-hour period on Sunday May 16.
From 5:30 am to 9:30 am a 41-year-old man was attacked and robbed of his cellphone by three men, a 40-year-old man was robbed of his cellphone and money at gunpoint by three men and two police officers were injured chasing fare dodgers, ABC 7 News reported.
That string of assaults came just two days after a subway slashing spree that left five people injured on Friday morning.
Four people, all aged 17 to 19, were arrested, ABC 7 News reported.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio on Monday announced 250 more police officers would be deployed into the subways, but an NYPD spokesperson said the additional cops would only be sent out during the morning and evening rush hour.
Statistics show murders and serious crimes are rocketing on the NYC subway, with figures revealing that 119 felony assaults have taken place so far this year – the highest number for the first three months of the year since 1998.
Last year saw 106 felony assaults recorded over the same period, with 91 reported in 2019.
New York City crime statistics show that violent crimes, including felonies and felony assaults, have risen dramatically in the first few months of 2021. Murders on the subway system have been up 25% since 2019 and are on track to beat 2020 numbers
In an effort to combat the rise in violence, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to deploy 250 additional police officers to the subway. A cop is pictured at 34th Street Station
Murders doubled between 2019 and 2020 – from three, to six, with the 2021 figure now on track to eclipse the previous two years.
Meanwhile, felonies – serious crimes including murders, rapes and assaults – saw a steep 53.7 per cent increase over the last two years.
For every million riders in the first three months of this year there were a reported 1.63 felonies.
That was up from 1.06 reported felonies per million riders in 2019 – a 53.7 per cent increase.
The numbers for the early part of 2021 are also upon the 1.48 reported felonies per million riders for the same period in 2020 – an increase of 10.1 per cent in just a year, according to The New York Times.
There have also been seven racist attacks on Asian-Americans so-far in 2021, compared to none recorded over the same period the previous year.
The total number of major felonies has dropped overall – with 335 reported this year so far, versus 697 for the same period in 2020, and 559 for the same period in 2019.
But safety advocates say the overall number of riders was far greater for the same period last year and the year before, pre-COVID shutdowns, and that the felonies per million riders offer a more useful snapshot of rising crime figures.
Around 2.1 million people a day now ride the subway system, well down on the 5.4 million average weekday riders, before COVID-19 saw people switch to working from home, and limited socializing opportunities.
Anecdotally, there has also been an uptick in people being shoved onto the subway tracks.
NYPD Data shows that since Christmas Eve 2020, six people have been pushed onto the subway track by someone with mental health issues, the New York Daily News reported.
As violent crimes, including felonies, see a dramatic uptick on the subway, more NYPD officers (pictured at Times Square Station) have been deployed to protect straphangers
‘I think we have been under policed for quite some time,’ Governor Andrew Cuomo said in regards to the Subway. He says he would not let his three daughters ride the system
In an effort to combat the rise in violence, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to deploy 250 additional police officers to the subway, bringing the number up to over 3,000 cops, the largest force the subway system has seen in 25 year, NYT reported.
De Blasio has insisted that the subway is relatively safe. But state Governor Andrew Cuomo – who is in charge of the MTA – said he would not let his daughters ride the subway due to safety concerns.
‘I think we have been underpoliced for quite some time,’ the governor told reporters on Monday.
The mayor and the governor, who frequently clash over big issues, are not the only two city officials in disagreement over subway safety.
Kathryn Wylde, the president and chief executive of the Partnership for New York City, an influential business group, said that subway safety is the biggest obstacle in getting New Yorkers back into the office full-time.
‘I don’t think there’s any question that fear of crime is way up,’ she told the NYT. ‘You can’t reopen offices if people aren’t comfortable taking mass transit.’
While Kathleen O’Reilly, the Police Department’s transit bureau chief, has slammed the ‘continued fearmongering’ surrounding the subway.
‘It’s a disservice to New Yorkers to advance a narrative that crime is soaring in the subways when it’s simply not the case,’ the NYT reported she told transit officials at an agency board meeting in April.
Many officials say crime rates should drop as vaccinated people return to work and the subways become busier, meaning there is ‘safety in numbers’ from potential attacks.