Suspect arrested in NYC subway slashings of 3 women

A suspect was arrested in connection to the slashings of at least three women in the New York City subway within an hour, according to police.

The man, identified as 28-year-old Kemal Rideout, was arrested at a Harlem bus stop by transit officers, sources told NBC New York. The East Harlem resident was charged with three counts of felony assault. Attorney information for Rideout was not immediately available.

Video released Monday morning shows the man police had been searching for in connection to the attacks on the women Sunday afternoon. He was seen jumping over a turnstile at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall subway station at the scene of his second attack.

The first incident happened, according to investigators, at the 86th Street-Lexington Avenue subway station when he approached two women, a 48-year-old and a 19-year-old, from behind and slashed them both in the right leg with a sharp object around 4 p.m.

"I just felt like a slice. I grabbed my thigh and I looked back and he was there. And I had the blood, and the blood was dripping everywhere," said the teen victim, who did not wish to be identified. She said she was on the downtown train to pick up a cake for her dad on Father's Day.

"I noticed [the suspect] come in, he was kind of staring at me, I wasn't trying to make eye contact with him. It was me, him and a lady that got off with a service dog," said the teen. "I got off first and then he was behind me. I was walking up the stairs and he slashed me...I looked back and he was just there, standing, and I was crying and he just walked across the platform."

She said the man never said a word, and moments later, the 48-year-old woman became his second victim at the same station.

About 20 minutes after that initial attack, officers said a 28-year-old woman was also stabbed by Rideout at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station in lower Manhattan. He then ran from the scene and exited the train at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station, before running out of the Chambers Street station.

The victim was rushed to the hospital with a severe cut to her left leg, according to police. Each of the three victims is expected to recover.

The 28-year-old victim said she took cell phone video capturing the attacker walking away from her on board the moving train. "Somebody call 911! It's an emergency," she can be heard yelling.

The victim, who asked not to be identified, is back home recovering after receiving 30 stiches for a long gash across her leg.

"My dad told me, 'you're lucky it wasn't your throat or your face,'" the woman told News 4.

A angry crowd gathered in Union Square on Tuesday as officers led Rideout away in handcuffs. He was led into an ambulance and taken away to undergo a mental health evaluation before he was expected to face a judge.

The NYPD said Rideout was arrested by officers after the alleged suspect was found at a bus stop in Harlem following an extensive manhunt.

MTA Chairman Janno Lieber said that although transit crime is down for 2023, he understands that attacks Iike this can be unnerving.

"Nobody should feel afraid going about their business in New York. For New Yorkers, transit is like air and water: We need it to survive. It needs to be safe and it needs to feel safe," Lieber said.

Those incidents came after Father's Day weekend started with a deadly attack on a 4 train at Union Square. The victim, identified by police as 32-year-old Tavon Silver, was found unconscious inside a train car Saturday morning with a stab wound to his chest. It was not immediately clear what led to the fatal confrontation.

On Monday, police arrested 33-year-old Claude White in connection with the deadly attack. White, who police said is homeless, was charged with murder and weapon possession. Attorney information was not immediately available.

There was an increased police presence along the 4/5/6 line on Monday, with officers patrolling platforms, boarding trains and looking for the suspect.

Anyone with information regarding the case is urged to contact police.