Woman, 53, Slashed In Argument Over Seat On 6 Train In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A fight over a seat on the subway ended with one woman in the hospital Thursday, and another at the center of an NYPD investigation.
The incident happened around 6 a.m. at the Parkchester-East 177th Street station on the No. 6 train, police said. Two women were quarreling over a seat when one woman slashed the other in the knee and hand and took off, police said.
The victim – identified as Lydia Gonzales, 53 – was taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Jacobi in stable condition.
As CBS2's Jessica Moore reported, police said the other woman attacked Gonzales because she wanted Gonzales' seat and couldn't have it.
David Alvarado takes the 6 Train from the Parkchester station every morning.
"I'm really surprised. This is a nice stop," Alvarado said. "I mean, I have never had no problems with anybody here."
"That's really sad, because they both are going to be affected now by it. One woman has a slash, another woman's going to have a criminal history, and it's just, it's unfortunate," said Evanda Butler. "We have to make better decisions -- everyone."
The incident is indicative of a growing problem on the subway. Compared to this time last year, stabbings and slashings are down 1.2 percent across the city -- but transit-related crimes are up by more than 3 percent.
So far in 2017, the NYPD has reported nearly 50 cases of subway riders being attacked with blades or sharp objects, compared to 38 for the same period last year.
Earlier this month, a man stabbed a woman and her pregnant friend after they bumped into him on a 2 train.
"It don't surprise me at all," said Derek Copeland. "I mean, it happened -- I've been riding the train for years and I've seen it all."
"If they weren't so childish, this would've never happened," said Ruthie Copeland. "It wasn't necessary."
Gonzales spent the entire day at Jacobi, where doctors put stitches in her hand and knee.
Subway service was briefly interrupted while police searched for the suspect who got off at the Parkchester Station. She is described as an African-American woman in her 40s, wearing black pants and a white button-down shirt.