NEW YORK (NewsNation Now) — A man charged with stabbing four people, two fatally, in the New York City subway system was ordered held without bail Monday.
It comes a day after Rigoberto Lopez, 21, was arraigned on murder and attempted murder charges.
One victim was discovered dead on a subway train in Queens late Friday with several stab wounds to his neck and torso, police said. Two hours later, a 44-year-old woman, Claudine Roberts, was found stabbed to death in a subway car in upper Manhattan.
Lopez also is charged in two other attacks in upper Manhattan subway stations late Friday and early Saturday. The victims, both men, survived.
Authorities believe all four victims were homeless.
A message seeking comment was left for Lopez’ attorney.
At his arraignment Monday, prosecutors said that Lopez had confessed to all four stabbings, even telling police that the knife they found on him was the weapon they used, NewsNation affiliate WPIX reported.
Investigators initially identified the 21-year-old as a suspect while reviewing surveillance video near the 181st Street station, according to the NYPD. He was wearing the same clothes from the video when he was arrested, police said.
Officials said Lopez was to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. He is expected back in court again on Friday.
Police leaders said they would deploy an additional 500 officers into the subway system to guard against future assaults. Transit officials are asking for another 1,000 officers.
A joint statement released Saturday by interim NYC Transit President Sarah Feinberg and TWU Local 100 Union President Tony Utano called for an immediate increase in the number of NYPD officers on subways.
“The recent horrifying attacks in the subway system are outrageous and unacceptable. Every customer, and each of our brave, heroic transit workers deserve a safe and secure transit system,” the statement said. “We have been calling on the city to add more police to the system, and to do more to assist those who desperately need mental health assistance. The time for action is now. We are demanding that additional resources be put into the system to address this challenge immediately. Our hearts go out to the victims, as we cooperate with active investigations and urge prosecutors to pursue maximum penalties for perpetrators.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement Saturday that violence on the subway, or anywhere else in the city, would not be tolerated.
“Safe and reliable transit is critical to our city’s recovery, and we’ll continue to do all we can to keep our subways safe for straphangers across the five boroughs,” de Blasio said.
The Associated Press and NewsNation affiliate WPIX contributed to this report.