NICK GILBERTSON Four people were stabbed in the New York City subway system on Saturday alone, just a day after Mayor Eric Adams unveiled his 17-page plan to address homelessness and public safety in the subways.
The first of the four stabbings came just after 3:00 a.m. at the Jamaica-Van Wyck station in Queens, where police said three suspects stabbed a 46-year-old homeless man seven times after attempting to rob him, according to AMNY. The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital in stable condition, and as of Saturday, the suspects were still on the loose.
Just before 3:00 p.m. later in the day, “on the 3 train platform at Livonia and Van Siclen Avenue in Brooklyn, a man punched a 20-year-old woman in the back, police said,” WNBC reports. An argument ensued, and the suspect slashed her three times in the stomach, police said. She was taken to a nearby hospital and was in stable condition, according to AMNY. As of early Sunday morning, the suspect pictured below was not arrested.
Hours later, at just before 8:30 p.m, a stabbing took place at the 168th Street station in Washington Heights, WABC reports. During an attempted robbery, two teens slashed a 24-year-old man standing in the mezzanine, police said. According to AMNY, one of the teens used a box cutter to stab the man in the leg, leaving a small puncture wound. The teens took off without stealing anything. The 24-year-old refused medical attention and is expected to survive.
About half an hour after the Washington Heights incident, another attack occurred on a train in Morningside Heights right before 9:00 p.m., according to WABC. A 31-year-old man was near a man and woman on the train while the woman smoked, which prompted an argument, AMNY reports.
“The man of the pair stabbed him with a knife in the left forearm and they escaped off the train at the 116th Street station,” per the outlet. The 31-year-old was taken to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital for treatment.
The stabbings come as transit crimes in Democrat Mayor Eric Adams’s city have been on the rise since he took office on January 1. From New Year’s day through February 13, Transit crime has increased 65.3 percent compared to the same period last year, the New York Police Department’s crime statistics show.
On Friday, Adams unveiled his 17-page Subway Safety Plan alongside Democrat New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who assumed office following the resignation of disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo (D).
The plan “lays out how his administration will begin addressing public safety concerns and supporting people experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness on New York City’s subways,” a release from Adam’s office said.
The release states in part:
The plan includes comprehensive investments in short- and medium-term solutions, including expanded outreach teams with New York Police Department (NYPD) officers and clinicians, additional housing and mental health resources, and outlines long-term systems improvements through changes to state and federal laws to connect more New Yorkers to the care they need.
It notes that the NYPD will be directed to enforce “certain subway rules, such as sleeping across multiple seats, exhibiting aggressive behavior to passengers, or creating an unsanitary environment.”
