A Bronx man who allegedly stabbed a straphanger at the East 176th Street subway station was arrested Saturday, a day after the victim died from his injuries, police said. (Read More Here).
Saquan Lemons, 27, is accused of approaching Charles Moore as Moore exited a northbound 4 train at around 10:30 p.m. Thursday, and stabbing him several times in the back and chest.
The stabbing of Moore came a day after a man was slashed during a fight at the Times Square subway station, and a week after Brooklyn resident Tommy Bailey 43, was killed on the L train.
The grieving mom said she learned of her son’s death from neighbors, not police, and slammed the city for failing to keep the subways safe.
“The police is supposed to be on them trains. … It’s your fault my child is dead,” she fumed. “The city of New York is responsible for all the things that’s happening on the subway.”
The devastated mom said she felt sorry for the accused stabber — and that he was “lucky” the police got to him before Moore’s friends, who were “ready to kill him.”
Moore collapsed on the platform, was rushed to St. Barnabas Hospital, where he later died, becoming the seventh person to be killed in the NYC transit system this year, and the second fatal subway stabbing in less than a week.
Earlier Thursday, at 5:15 p.m., a 45-year-old man was slashed in the face by a man on a moped who followed him into a Brooklyn subway station in East New York.
Just after 1 p.m. the same day, a 59-year-old man was stabbed in the back at a Harlem subway station. The victim was waiting for a train at the 125th St station at St Nicholas Avenue when he got into an argument with a man he didn’t know, possibly after a harmless bump on the platform.
The other man pulled a knife and stabbed the victim in the upper back. He was taken to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital in stable condition
The suspect, last seen wearing blue jeans, a blue jacket and blue tinted glasses, ran off. New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell said the NYPD had “to do more” after three people were stabbed, one fatally, in three separate attacks on the subway within an 8-hour span.
“We’ve surged thousands of officers into the subway system,” Sewell said Friday during a news conference. “We have to deter and prevent this activity.”
Police said it was too soon to talk motive for the seemingly random attacks. None of the suspects is in custody.
“There was no contact in that train car between the victim and assailant,” Chief of Department Kenneth Corey said of the fatal stabbing in the Bronx. “Looking at the video, it looks as though the attacker goes after that individual specifically. We don’t know what the motive is.”
The department stressed the number of transit assaults and arrests have increased, but it is working on getting the illegal cutting weapons off the streets.
Police have made more than 600 arrests for illegal cutting instruments on the subway so far this year.
Transit Chief Jason Wilcox said that’s a 95% increase from last year.
“The events of yesterday, very disturbing,” Wilcox said. “We are going to be out there with the riders and for the riders, keeping them safe.”
Eyewitness News spoke with concerned riders overnight.
“The most I can do different is basically be a little more vigilant than usual, but I’m not surprised,” said one.
“I typically feel OK at this particular subway, first time I heard something this tragic at this subway,” said another.
“Crime is pretty high right now, so I don’t think it’s an isolated situation,” said a third commuter.
Anyone with information on any of these cases is urged to contact the NYPD.
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