A man dressed as an elf, replete with a Christmas tree skirt and holiday cloak, followed a woman onto a Manhattan subway with an ice pick in his hand after she saw him smoking a cigarette by a turnstile over the weekend, authorities say.
Police say the 29-year-old woman saw the man, described as being about 5 feet 3 inches tall, smoking as she entered the East 59th Street and Lexington Avenue subway station shortly around 12:20 a.m. New Year's Eve.
She started walking toward the mezzanine to the platform and noticed the colorfully dressed man following her; he was holding an ice pick in his left hand, police say.
Both the woman and the man got onto a southbound N train, but in different cars. The woman saw the man get into her car as it left the station, and she got out at the 42nd Street/Times Square stop. The elf stayed on the train.
Anyone with information about the man is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
