A 22-year-old man who moved to New York City three months ago was attacked by a box cutter-wielding stranger as he rode a subway to work Tuesday, leaving him with a glaring gash on his head that required more than two dozen stitches to close.
Matt Ruff and another man, Oneal Mendes, were riding a C train in Brooklyn shortly before 4 p.m. when a 29-year-old stranger approached them and slashed them on their heads. The suspect didn't say a word before attacking the men.
Ruff told NBC 4 New York he was having a normal day before the attack and didn't notice anything strange when he got on the C train.
"Suddenly all hell breaks loose as I see a guy pull out a box knife and attack someone beside me," Ruff said. "He then came after me so I tried to jump into the next subway car. My leg got stuck in the door and the train was still moving fast. The guy got on top of me and cut my forehead."
After, the suspect ran from the subway stop, dropping the box cutter on the platform. Police apprehended him a few blocks away.
Ruff and Mendes were taken to Brookdale Hospital, where Ruff remained Wednesday morning with a laceration that stretched diagonally from the top of the center of his forehead nearly to his right ear. He was released later in the day; Mendes had already been discharged.
Ruff said the attacker hit an artery and his head was gushing blood. He said he wrapped his shirt around his head and crawled out of the subway as terrified onlookers seemed too shocked to help. Soon, police, firemen and paramedics arrived and helped get Ruff to safety.
Ruff said Wednesday he is still in pain and "on a good bit of medication," but expects to be OK. He said he moved to the city from Florida three months ago to pursue his degree in musical theater.
"This happening to me in my first three months is really traumatic," Ruff said. "However, I firmly believe I still belong in this city. And I'm not going to let it defeat my faith that God makes all things happen for a reason."
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Ruff's sister, Emily, posted on Facebook that their mother was headed to New York to be with him. She thanked everyone for their loving support and prayers.
Ruff's alleged attacker, 29-year-old Stanley Gary, faces assault charges in the case. He was taken to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and is expected to be arraigned later Wednesday. Law enforcement sources say he has 18 prior arrests for crimes including assault and menacing.
It wasn't immediately clear if Gary had an attorney.
The unprovoked attack on mass transit worried some residents.
"I have little nephews and nieces who use public transportation to get to school, so that worries me because somebody just got stabbed. Could be anybody at any time," said Roy Samuels of Brownsville.
Crimes on subways and buses are up 8 percent this year compared with the same time last year: nearly 2,000 in the transit system reported in the past year, compared to just over 1,800 by the same time last year, according to NYPD's CompStat data.
