At least seven people were assaulted in New York City’s subway system over the weekend through early Monday morning, including five stabbing victims, as Democrat Mayor Eric Adams’s Subway Safety Plan goes into effect Monday.
At around 3:15 a.m. Monday, a man who appeared to be homeless told a 30-year-old woman to stop talking to her friend while aboard a southbound train traveling through the Bronx, the New York Post reported. The victim ignored the man and he used a metal pipe to crack her in the head, police said. After getting off at the 167th Street station, the victim declined medical attention and the perp stayed on the train.
He is described as a man in his 30s standing around six feet tall, with facial piercings, and dressed in all black, according to Pix11 and the New York Post.
In another incident just after 3:00 a.m. Monday, police say a young man was assaulted and robbed in Manhattan, the Post reported. Four men approached the 22-year-old man as he passed through a turnstile at Grand Central, punched him in the face, and allegedly made off with his cell phone, police said. No weapons were displayed.
On Sunday night, at least the fifth stabbing since Saturday morning occurred at around 6:10 p.m. on a six train approaching the Canal Street Station, according to the Post. An unprovoked suspect stabbed a 31-year-old man twice in the arm, police said. The 31-year-old was taken to Bellevue Hospital and was stable while the suspect stayed on the train, the Post reported.
The slashing comes after four people were stabbed in the course of eighteen hours on Saturday, with the first occurring just after 3:00 a.m., Breitbart News reported.
Since January 1, when Adams was sworn in, through February 13, transit crimes have increased 65.3 percent compared to the same period in 2021. Adams’s 17-page Subway Safety Plan goes into effect Monday in an effort to curb rampant homelessness and high crime rates in the subway system. Adams unveiled the plan Friday alongside the state’s Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul.
A press release from Adams’s office stated the New York City Police Department (NYPD) will be directed to enforce “certain subway rules, such as sleeping across multiple seats, exhibiting aggressive behavior to passengers, or creating an unsanitary environment.”
“No more smoking. No more doing drugs. No more sleeping. No more doing barbecues on the subway system. No more just doing whatever you want,” Adams said as he detailed the plan Friday, per the Post.
“No. Those days are over. Swipe your MetroCard. Ride the system. Get off at your destination. That’s what this administration is saying,” he added.