NYPD: Suspect hit man with sheathed sword outside Lower Manhattan subway station after argument on A train
NEW YORK -- Police say a 29-year-old man was hit on the head with the sheath of a sword during a wild attack Thursday outside a Lower Manhattan subway station.
Police said the trouble started on an A train and escalated outside on Church and Park. The suspect took off and police are still searching for him, CBS2's Jenna DeAngelis reported.
Investigators put a long object, believed to be a sheath - the case that covers a sword - into an evidence bag. Police said the victim was struck with it after he exited the Chambers Street station.
"It's very scary and very unimaginable," said a subway rider who saw the victim with a bloody forehead. "He was talking to the cops, that somebody had a samurai sword in his hands and hit him in the face with it... . He was saying 'I didn't do nothing, I didn't do nothing.'"
DeAngelis was told it started with an argument on a northbound A train at around 9:20 a.m. The suspect allegedly threatened to hurt the victim.
"Out of nowhere, he just, like, very forcefully opened the doors to the train car behind us and whipped out some sort of weapon that was just gigantic," said Rebecca Strassberg, a Brooklyn resident. "It looked like he was like targeting someone kind of specific."
Strassberg said it happened fast and caused panic and confusion on the train.
Eventually, the men left the train and exited the station. The victim followed the suspect, according to police sources, and the suspect allegedly hit the man in the head with the covered sword.
The victim was taken to the hospital. The sheath was left behind with terrified commuters.
"I did not feel good. I had this sort of like ball of anxiety in my throat," said Strassberg.
Thursday's attack happened less than 12 hours after another subway rider was stabbed on a northbound 2 train on the Upper West Side.
NYPD data shows transit crime is up 41 percent.
"Seeing something like that with my own eyes, I don't necessarily feel safe and I'm just happy that I wasn't buried in my phone or buried in a book," said Strassberg.
It was not immediately clear if the two men knew each other or what they were arguing about.
Police said the man they're looking for was last seen wearing all black clothes and some sort of Marvel Comics baseball cap.
Anyone with 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.