MTA employee victim of 3rd NYC subway stabbing in roughly 24 hours
NEW YORK - An MTA employee was stabbed in a subway station in the Bronx Thursday morning.
It's the third stabbing incident in the NYC subway system in a little more than 24 hours, and comes amid security concerns in mass transit.
In Thursday morning's incident, an MTA cleaner became involved in a "verbal altercation" with another man at the Pelham Parkway 5 train station at around 6:30 a.m. The cleaner was stabbed twice and was rushed to Jacobi Hospital, where he is in stable condition. The suspect is still on the loose.
New Year's Day subway stabbings
There were also two stabbings in the subway system on New Year's Day. One happened around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the 110th Street 1 train station. In that incident, two men were involved in an argument on the southbound platform when one attacked the other with a knife. The victim was hospitalized with wounds to his head and body. The suspect took off.
The same day, there was also a stabbing on a 2 train near the 14th Street station. A 31-year-old man was stabbed in the back. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital. There have been no arrests in that incident.
NYC subway security in focus
The spate of stabbing incidents comes at a time of increased focus on security in the subway system.
In December, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced 250 more National Guard troops would be deployed into the system to help during the holiday season. That move brought the total number of National Guard support in the transit system to 1,000.
Her announcement came days before Debrina Kawam, 57, was set on fire and burned to death on a subway car at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station. Sebastian Zapeta, 33, who was in the country illegally, was arrested in that case. He faces murder and arson charges. Zapeta's arraignment is set for Jan. 7.
Another high-profile crime in the subway also shocked the system. On New Year's Eve, 23-year-old Kamel Hawkins allegedly pushed another man onto train tracks at the 18th Street station in Chelsea. He faces attempted murder and assault charges. He was ordered held without bail.
The victim in that incident suffered a fractured skull, broken ribs and ruptured spleen.
Subway crime overall is down, officials say
At her December announcement of the additional National Guard troops in the subway system, Hochul said crime overall on the subway was down 10% since March.
"And only two years since the year 1970 have we had fewer subway crimes than we had last year," Hochul said at the time.
Hochul touted new security cameras in every subway car.
MTA officials said subway ridership has recently reached its highest level since the pandemic.
Officials have said the increased public safety effort will also include expanding mental health outreach.
