Two people were hurt in what is believed to be an unprovoked slashing attack at the Grand Central subway station on Christmas Eve, according to police and law enforcement sources.
The incident occurred just before 10:15 p.m. on Dec. 24, police said. A man activated the emergency brake on a northbound 5 train after it arrived at the midtown station, preventing it from moving on, according to police.
He appeared to be yelling at people randomly, law enforcement sources said, when he went up to a 42-year-old man who was standing by a staircase on the subway platform and allegedly slashed him in the left wrist.
Right after that, the suspect, later identified as Jason Sargeant, went up the stairs to the mezzanine level and left through a turnstile. He tried to stab a 26-year-old woman in the neck, but missed, according to sources. The victim still suffered a cut as a result, however.
Get Tri-state area news delivered to your inbox.> Sign up for NBC New York's News Headlines newsletter.
Both victims were taken to the hospital and are expected to recover, police said. The attacks were said to be unprovoked.
Sargeant, 28, took an escalator up to Grand Central Terminal, where an MTA police officer stopped him after seeing him act erratically, according to police. Hewas taken into custody at the scene, with a knife found in his jacket.
Sargeant faces a slew of charges inlcuding assault, reckless endangerment, menacing, weapon possession and more. Attorney information for him was not immediately available.
News
New York City Mayor Eric Adams weighed in on the slashings Wednesday, saying the incidents were a symptom of a mental health and housing crisis that needs to be addressed at the state and local level.
"We need to look at involuntary removals. As we go back to Albany, we need to look at more long-term housing beds," the mayor said.
