The nighttime slashing is now being investigated as a hate crime after police said the perpetrator allegedly used homophobic slurs. News 4’s Melissa Colorado reports.
A man wanted for a subway slashing in the first hours of the weekend allegedly attacked his victim after hurling homophobic remarks on a Manhattan train.
Police responded to Penn Station around 11 p.m. Friday for reports of an attack aboard a northbound A train. The perpetrator allegedly made his hate-filled comments as the train approached the station.
The confrontation escalated when police said the suspect took out a box cutter and slashed the 27-year-old victim's hand. His victim got off at the station, but the attacker stayed on the train as it continued north, according to police.
The NYPD released a first look on Saturday of the wanted suspect, seen wearing a large gray puffer jacket and a black hat.
Video taken from the subway station shows officers and paramedics surrounding a man with a bandaged hand.
"I would say definitely when I take the train, I stand by police because I get a little nervous by myself," said college student Ava Vanni.
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Friday night’s slashing is the latest instance of violence aboard the subways. That same day, a 61-year-old man was stabbed aboard a 4 train at 167th Street in the Bronx. On Thursday, an MTA conductor aboard an A train stuck his head out when the train pulled into the Rockaway Avenue Station in Brooklyn and was slashed by someone in the neck, giving him a severe cut that required 34 stitches.
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Overall, there’s been a 13% jump in subway crimes – including an 11 percent rise in assaults. So far this year, three people have been murdered while riding the subway.
MTA Chairman Janno Lieber has pushed back on the perception that subway crime is running rampant, given that 4 million riders use the transit system. Lieber announced new safety measures to quell safety concerns.
"We're putting cameras in every subway car, no one has ever done that before," Lieber said. "We're putting cameras inside the whole fleet."
