Two people were slashed on the tops of their heads on a C train in Brooklyn Tuesday afternoon, and police have taken a man into custody.
Police said the 29-year-old suspect used a box-cutter to slash the two victims on a Manhattan-bound train shortly before 3:30 p.m. He didn't say a word before he attacked the riders, whom he did not know, and then he ran from the subway stop, dropping the box cutter on the platform, police said.
Authorities apprehended him a few blocks away.
Both victims were taken to Brookdale Hospital. One of them was identified as 22-year-old Matthew James Ruff by his sister on Facebook, who said in a public status update: "He's stable and OK and at the hospital. Thanks all, and love."
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 to 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.
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Police are continuing to question the man in custody. He has not yet been arrested.
The investigation prompted delays and some service changes for about an hour.
