NEW YORK — Police are searching for a man suspected in a pattern of subway assaults in Queens. He’s accused of hitting people on platforms from a moving train with pieces of wood.
On October 5th, within a span of 12 minutes, the man reportedly assaulted four individuals at three different subway stations, as stated by the police.
According to police, a man on a southbound R train allegedly struck and injured a 59-year-old woman at the Grand Avenue station. Instead of leaving the train, he remained on board and proceeded to throw wood at two men at Elmhurst Avenue. Shortly after, he reportedly hit and injured a 56-year-old woman at the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station.
New York City Transit President Richard Davey expressed uncertainty about the method used by an unidentified group, stating, “I am unaware of the specifics in order to avoid encouraging imitators. Nonetheless, we possess a photograph of the individual involved and are determined to locate them.”
“I was in shock. I was like, ‘How the hell would someone so stupid do something like that?'” said Luis Perez, of Manhattan.
“Since the pandemic, it has been a bit hairy,” said a woman named Irene from Jackson Heights. “I also don’t understand where the police are. They’re upstairs, but they’re not walking on the platform.”
Two individuals who were injured were transported to Elmhurst Hospital and are currently in stable condition.
According to the NYPD, transit crime has decreased from the previous year but has shown an increase when compared to the corresponding period in 2021.
Anyone with any information 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.
- In:
- Queens
- Jackson Heights
- Subway
- MTA
