Police in New York City have released new surveillance images of a suspect who allegedly stabbed two women in the subway in a month.
One of the victims, a 60-year-old woman, told police that she bumped into someone at the 3 train station on Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn on May 12. She turned to apologize and after she turned back to see if the train was coming, the man stabbed him repeated in the back, shoulder and arms, according to police.
Investigators say they believe that the same man stabbed a 21-year-old woman on April 25 in East Harlem. The victims were both taken to the hospital and their conditions are unknown.
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The suspect, according to police, is described as being around 5 feet 5 inches and in his 20s. He was last seen wearing a gray hooded sweater, dark-colored sweatpants and white sneakers.
The search for the suspect comes amid rising concern over safety in the city's subway system. Wednesday's attack was just one out of four that occurred within hours in one of the busiest public transit hubs in the world.
Two slashing incidents were also reported Friday morning on the 4 train, according to police. In the first incident at Union Square Station, police said three to four individuals approached a man on the train and slashed the victim on the cheek. In the second incident at Brooklyn Bridge Station, another person was approached by two individuals and the victim was also slashed.
No arrests have been made in either incidents. It's unclear whether the incidents were robberies or random attacks.
Another attack weeks ago left a train conductor hospitalized in critical condition, with calls for the city to "do something" growing louder in recent weeks.
The police department statistics show while overall subway crime is down this year — felony assault is up 20% this year compared to last. Taking into account lower ridership because of the pandemic, the MTA and the union say the number of assaults has increased but the NYPD Transit Chief last month accused workers of fearmongering.
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The MTA is asked for the police department to deploy 4,300 cops in the subway system. That’s the level of cops that were in the system when the NYPD took over the transit police in the 90s. In February, the NYPD increased the number of cops to 600.
With subway safety concerns on the rise, City Hall also launched a commuter buddy program as tens of thousands of municipal workers returned to in-person office work earlier this month.
