Amid rising concern, 3 subway stabbings in one day in NYC
FILE – A New York City Police Department officer and a subway conductor look down the subway platform at the Grand Central subway station, in New York, on May 18, 2021. New York Mayor Eric Adams is announcing a plan to boost safety in the city’s sprawling subway network and try to stop homeless people from sleeping on trains or living in stations. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
Testing on staging11
(NewsNation Now) — Three people were stabbed in the New York subway system over the weekend as safety concerns are at the forefront for many.
Three incidents occurred Saturday in what police describe as separate attacks.
A 20-year-old woman was punched and then stabbed three times in the abdomen at the Van Siclen Avenue station in Brooklyn and was taken to a hospital, where she was stable, police said.
A man was stabbed in the leg Saturday night at the 168th Street station in Washington Heights during a robbery attempt, and shortly afterward a 31-year-old man was stabbed in the arm at the 116th Street station near Columbia University after asking a man and woman to move because they were smoking, police said.
No arrests have been made in the cases.
Mayor Eric Adams and Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday announced a plan to fight back against violence in the subway system, starting by beefing up security.
In response to concerns about assaults and aggressive behavior by homeless people in the subways since the start of the pandemic, Adams recently said he would start barring people from sleeping on trains or riding the same lines all night.
“People tell me about their fear of using the system and we are going to ensure that fear is not New York’s reality,” he said. “We are not going to live in fear because we can’t get our system operating correctly.”
However, many commuters do have concerns. They said safety needs to be addressed, and quickly.
“I personally don’t feel safe,” one woman told WPIX.
Another woman said it’s necessary to stay “vigilant,” noting that violent — and even deadly — incidents seem to be happening more frequently.
Violent crime on New York City transit systems is surging. Compared to last year, riders are dealing with 60% more criminal incidents, according to WPIX.
As part of its new safety plan, the city will deploy up to 30 new joint response teams to specifically deal with situations involving the homeless.
“No more just doing whatever you want,” Adams said. “Those days are over. Swipe your card, ride the system, get off at your destination.”
The Associated Press and NewNation affiliate WPIX contributed to this report.