Charges filed in fatal stabbing of 36-year-old man on J train in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
NEW YORK -- Police have pressed charges in the case of a fatal stabbing on board a J train in Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
The man charged is claiming self defense.
Just after 8 p.m., police say 36-year-old Devictor Ouedraogo of Brooklyn was stabbed on board a northbound train as it was approaching Marcy Avenue and Broadway in Williamsburg. He was rushed to Methodist Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A man and a woman were taken into custody for questioning. The woman was eventually released. The man, identified as 20-year-old Jordan Williams of Queens, was charged with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon.
Police sources say Williams is claiming self-defense, and says the victim was violently harassing passengers, including assaulting the woman eventually questioned with him by police.
Police sources say the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office worked with NYPD officials to examine the evidence and ultimately decided to charge Williams because Ouedraogo was not armed and therefore not putting lives at risk.
The NYPD says there have been four homicides in transit so far this year -- the same number police had reported at this time last year. The department says, overall, crime in transit is down 7.9% as of this week. But folks in the neighborhood say it's getting worse.
"Twenty percent of the time there's somebody on the train that intimidates the entire train. I wish they'd actually do something about it," said Angelo Naturale of East Williamsburg.
"I was very alarmed and scared because often times I come home in the night and it's very, very, very, very scary," area resident Karen Miller said.
"It's not like what it used to be before, especially after the pandemic. After the pandemic, it was a mess. We need more police," bodega owner Ali Salah added.
It's not yet clear whether Williams and the woman he says he was protecting knew each other. Williams has no prior arrests, but if found guilty of first-degree manslaughter could face up to 25 years in prison.
Anyone with information about the stabbing 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.
