Two people died and two others were injured after multiple stabbing incidents at subway stations in New York City.
New York Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a news conference Saturday afternoon that there were four separate incidents where people were “cut with a sharp object” at the A-line metro system.
Shea said an additional 500 officers in New York City will be deployed to patrol the subway system.
“The bottom line that the public should know is that they can expect a very large footprint from uniformed officers deployed all over New York City, whether they get on the train, whether they go on a platform,” said Shea. “They stay there as long as it takes to make people feel safe.”
Kathleen O’Reilly, Chief of Transit for NYPD, said the first attack occurred on Friday at 11:20 am, when a 67-year-old man was stabbed by an unknown man at 181st Street Station. He was later treated in a regional hospital.
Twelve hours later, at 11:29 PM on Friday, another adult man was pronounced dead on the A train at Mott Avenue-Far Rockaway Station. He sustained stab wounds to his neck and torso, O’Reilly said.
At around 1:15 am Saturday morning, an unconscious 44-year-old woman was found on a train at 207th Street Inwood station with “multiple stab wounds.” O’Reilly said she was taken to a regional hospital where she was pronounced dead.
About 20 minutes later, Saturday at 1:28 am, police responded to a call at 659 W. 181st St, where they discovered that a 43-year-old man had been stabbed at 181st St. station. O’Reilly said he was being treated at a regional hospital and in stable condition.
O’Reilly said three of the incidents appear to be “related,” adding that the detective agency is “investigating the possibility that all four could have been committed by one person.”
Deputy Chief Brian McGee, who heads the Manhattan North detective agency, said the incidents appear unprovoked and all victims were homeless.
McGee said the police have “not much” about the perpetrator at this point.