NYC subway attack: Man, 22, brutally stabs another in torso and leg during melee at Times Square
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: A man was arrested after reportedly stabbing a person in the Times Square subway station, police said. The suspect has been identified as Jermaine Cloud, 22, of Queens. Cops said he does not have a criminal past. This is the latest among various violent incidents that have taken place on subways.
The incident took place on Saturday, October 29, at the 42nd Street/Broadway station. The NYPD confirmed that it is still being probed. During a melee, the suspect stabbed a 23-year-old man in the torso and leg. Cloud also reportedly suffered a slash wound to the head, which cops believe may have been self-inflicted. The suspect is being described by police as the “aggressor".
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A knife was recovered by investigators from Cloud's pocket. They subsequently “took him into custody,” authorities said. He is being charged with assault, criminal possession of a weapon and reckless endangerment. Both the wounded men were transported to Bellevue Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police confirmed, according to New York Post.
This incident comes days after a teenager was brutally stabbed on a train in Manhattan after she had a dispute with two other teenage girls she knew, police reportedly said. The 14-year-old was attacked during a fight on a southbound train near the 191st station in Washington Heights around 4 pm.
The girl was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition after she suffered a puncture wound to the chest and, the NYPD reportedly said. Police and law enforcement sources also confirmed that a 13-year-old boy, who was with the victim, was wounded, but not stabbed. No arrests have been made yet and authorities are looking for two teenage girls.
According to reports, Mayor Eric Adams and Gov Kathy Hochul recently announced that they would ensure there was more police presence to stop crimes in the city's subway system, and also ramp up the installation of additional surveillance cameras. MTA police, NYPD cops, and other first responders will be provided training on better transportation of the mentally ill from subways to psychiatric care, they added.
“I will continue to use the resources of the State of New York to bring this violence to an end,” said Hochul, according to New York Post. However, she did not mention anything about cost estimates and when the plan would be rolled out. The governor said that the state would help the city “defray” overtime costs through its public emergency safety fund “in the short term”. She said the state would then look for sources to pay for the extra police presence.
“The bottom line is that riders will see more officers in the system, and so will those thinking of breaking the law,” Adams said. Both Hochul and Adams also said they would be creating the new 25-bed inpatient units at two psychiatric centers in an attempt to help seriously mentally ill people. The aim, they said, was to get these patients out of the subway system and to shelters.