Suspect wanted for slashing 3 women in Manhattan subway
NEW YORK -- A suspect is wanted after two women were slashed at a subway station on the Upper East Side and one on a train in Lower Manhattan.
Police said a man attacked two women Sunday at the 86th Street and Lexington Avenue station, before he attacked a third woman on a 4 train.
Just after 4 p.m., the man approached 19-year-old Bianchelly as she was getting off a 4 train at 86th Street and slashed her right leg with a sharp object as she walked up the stairs, police said.
"I remember seeing him and we made eye contact ... Like, I had a gut feeling something was off, and then I just felt him staring at me," Bianchelly told CBS2.
She was on her way to pick up a Father's Day cake at the time. As she walked up the subway stairs to leave, she felt it.
"I was going up quickly, so I'm surprised he even got to me that quickly," Bianchelly told CBS2. "He just looked at me. Like, I was crying, and he just looked me and he just walked away."
Watch Alice Gainer's report
When her mother got the call, her heart was pounding.
"I started to get more worried until they told me what hospital she was going to," her mother said.
Bianchelly says she needed 19 stitches to the back of her leg. She is currently recovering at home.
"Once it happens to you, you're like, wow. You really have to be aware of people and their intentions," she said.
The suspect then allegedly went up to a 48-year-old woman on the southbound platform of the same station and slashed her in the right leg from behind, according to police.
"That's crazy. That's scary. I literally walk here like every day, and I take the subway almost every day," said Cristina Baquerizo, who lives on the Upper East Side.
"Just being more vigilant. That's all I can do. It's New York, unfortunately," said Sheila Santiago.
Next, police said the suspect boarded a southbound 4 train, approached a 28-year-old woman sitting and slashed her left leg as the train approached the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station.
The suspect got off the train and fled through the Chambers Street exit, according to investigators.
The women were all taken to hospitals to be treated. They were expected to be OK.
While there was a heavy police presence at the 86th Street station Monday, some riders told us they're usually cautious anyway.
"I am very aware of my surroundings because you don't know what's going on, and I do travel to the city with my daughter ... so I let her know what to look out for," said Taniesha Bogle, of the Bronx.
"Generally I feel the subways are incredible safe. I lived through the '60s, the '70s when I was really afraid. I'm not. I know it's still one in X number," said Helene Silver, of Greenwich Village.
"Anything is possible. We just have to be aware of our surroundings," subway rider Princess Brown said.
Frida Peralta, of Harlem, says she's been shoved in a subway station before.
"Not safe," she said. "When I go to work, I don't feel safe, but I just try to look out for me."
This year, felony assaults in the subway system are down, according to NYPD. There were 269 in 2022 and 248 in 2023, so far. Updated statistics are expected Tuesday.
Still, there was a surge of police underground Monday. The NYPD has 80 additional uniformed officers patrolling the transit system.
The MTA says because transit cameras captured the suspect, they're hoping he'll be tracked down soon, saying in part, "When they do, prosecutors need to press for maximum consequences under the law."
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.