Elijah Crump charged after stabbing inside 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby
UPPER DARBY, Pa. (CBS) -- A man who allegedly stabbed another man inside the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby on Tuesday morning was arrested in Philadelphia.
The suspect, 25-year-old Elijah Crump, was arrested at 51st and Market Streets, several hours after the attack happened, SEPTA said.
Upper Darby Township Police charged Crump with attempted murder, aggravated assault, possessing an instrument of crime and other related offenses.
SEPTA said earlier Tuesday that the stabbing happened around 9:15 a.m. near the fare gates for the Market-Frankford Line.
According to SEPTA, Crump attacked the man, who was looking at his phone near the gate. Crump then escaped from the transportation center on an eastbound train heading toward the city.
"The great thing we have about our surveillance system is we have over 30,000 cameras on the system and we are able to immediately get images of the suspect out to SEPTA police and our law enforcement partners," Andrew Bush, the director of media reactions of SEPTA, said.
The victim is in critical condition.
It's still unclear what led to the attack. Police said the victim did not know Crump.
SEPTA said the 69th Street Transportation Center has since reopened for riders.
The Market-Frankford Line operated with delays after the stabbing but has since resumed normal operations, SEPTA said. SEPTA used shuttle buses to help riders get around the closed station. Many were frustrated by the changes.
"Anytime something like this happens, it raises concerns from our customers about safety and security on the system and we would like to reassure them that the police response to this incident was immediate," Busch said.
The stabbing comes as a SEPTA Transit Police strike looms. SEPTA and the union representing its police officers are entering the final day of bargaining on a new contract. The union says transit officers could strike Wednesday if a deal isn't agreed upon.
On Monday, a man who allegedly stabbed three people at a subway platform in Philadelphia died after being shot by a SEPTA police officer.
