A suspect is at large after allegedly stabbing someone on the New York City subway on New Year’s Day, as the Big Apple sees a spike in transit crime.
An unknown suspect fled the 14th Street Station in Lower Manhattan Wednesday morning after allegedly stabbing the 31-year-old man on a northbound 2 train before fleeing into the street around 9:45 a.m., police confirmed to DailyMail.com.
The suspect has been described as a black male who was seen wearing a black puffer jacket, dark sweatpants and a red suitcase.
The MTA confirmed that police responded to a “disruptive” person at the station and told passengers to expect delays on the Red Line.
The suspect reportedly fled the station through the 12th Street and 7th Avenue exit.
“The investigation remains ongoing,” an NYPD spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
The victim suffered back injuries and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, the spokesperson said.
The police are investigating the area for the suspect, who is still on the run.
An unknown suspect fled the 14th Street station in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning after allegedly stabbing the victim on a northbound train before fleeing into the street (Photo: 14th Street Station in January 2022)
Ahead of the new year, New Yorkers are confronted with a series of brutal crimes on the subway, including the death of a woman who was set on fire by a migrant.
Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey, was allegedly set on fire by illegal immigrant Sebastian Zepeta, who police say used a lighter before fanning the flames with his shirt.
Zepeta, 33, is charged with murder and arson following the horror incident.
Officials used fingerprint data, dental records and DNA evidence to identify Kawam and said she was believed to be homeless. She was originally from Tom’s River, New Jersey.
Kawam was reportedly sleeping on the subway at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn around 7:30 a.m. when she was set on fire.
Footage of the moments after Kawam was set on fire went viral, showing an NYPD officer walking past the fire as a man, reportedly Zepeta, looked on.
NYPD Police Chief Jessica Tisch told a news conference that responding officers were unaware the suspect was on the scene at the time.
Another man, Kamel Hawkins, 23, was charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault after allegedly pushing a stranger in front of an oncoming subway train.
The woman who was set on fire and burned on a New York City subway train (seen in footage) has been identified as Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey
She was allegedly set on fire by illegal immigrant Sebastian Zepeta
Kamel Hawkins, 23, (shown in gray) was charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault after allegedly pushing a person onto subway tracks Tuesday
Surveillance footage showed the unnamed victim, 45, standing at the edge of the platform as the train approached 18th Street in Chelsea, Manhattan, around 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Hawkins, who was wearing a mask, walked behind the man for several seconds before pushing him onto the tracks as a train approached. The man miraculously survived.
With violent crime hitting the subway system, the vigilante group Guardian Angels has resumed patrolling the platforms and subways.
Founder Curtis Sliwa announced Sunday that the 150-member group will travel from train car to train car to conduct welfare checks and alert Metropolitan Transportation Authority police to potential dangers.
“Our job is to check on a homeless person, if he or she is homeless or emotionally disturbed, to see if everything is OK,” he told the New York Post from the Stillwell Avenue/Coney Island station – where was a woman. burned alive last week.
“If we suddenly find ourselves in a situation where an episode happens, which happens often, we have to calm it down,” Sliwa said.
“These homeless and emotionally disturbed people often know the Guardian Angels, so we can have a calming effect,” he explained.
“We can also bring the situation to the attention of the police on the platform,” he continued, claiming that the police only patrol the platforms and not the subways.
Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, announced Sunday that the 150-member group will begin traveling from train car to train car to conduct welfare checks and alert Metropolitan Transportation Authority police to any dangers.
He claimed that crime in the New York City subway system is as bad as it was when he first founded the group in 1979.
‘That’s why we always stick our heads out at the station and always look from north to south.
“If there are police officers, we hold the door open and tell the conductor we need the police here.”
Despite the recent spike in fatal or near-fatal subway incidents, transit crime is down 5.4 percent in 2024 compared to 2023.
Total violent crime fell by three percent.