NYPD: Kemal Rideout facing charges for slashing 3 women Sunday in subway system
NEW YORK -- Police say the suspect seen on transit camera footage is Kemal Rideout, who was arrested Tuesday morning and charged with felony assault times 3.
Investigators say within 30 minutes late Sunday afternoon he carried out unprovoked, random attacks on women, including a 19-year-old who was slashed on the back of her right leg.
"I felt him staring at me," the victim, named Bianchially, said.
Her discomfort with the suspect on the No. 4 train turned violent as she tried to quickly exit. She said the man caught up to her and slashed her.
"He just looked at me. I was crying and he just looked at me and walked away," Bianchially said.
She and another victim where slashed at the 86th Street and Lexington Avenue station, police said.
The third victim was attacked at the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station.
Chief of Detectives James Essig spoke to reporters on Tuesday about the 28-year-old suspect.
"He has four priors, none of which are in New York City," Essig said, "for forcible touching in Norwich 2016, for assault 3 again in Norwich in 2012, for attempted rape in Varick, New York, and 2011 for criminal mischief in Riverhead."
NYPD officials say two things made a big difference in this case -- the surging of extra police officers into the system for the manhunt and plainclothes officers who noticed the suspect at an upper Manhattan Street sidewalk and caught him."
The officers, all assigned to NYPD Transit District 4, were at the news conference and were praised for successfully ending two manhunts on two separate cases in as many days.
"I cannot understate how proud, how depressed I am, impressed I am by the officers present with us if we could simply put phenomenal phenomenal, great police work," Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said.
"It is a great comfort to our riders and everyone in our region to know that the NYPD has subway riders' backs," MTA Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber said. "It is our cameras which again and again contribute to the incredible police work."
Police say felony assaults in the subway system is down 4% so far this year, compared to the same period last year.
