A subway ride ended with an ambulance ride for a 40-year-old man.
According to police, the victim was found stabbed multiple times onboard a northbound 6 train at Astor Place early Wednesday morning.
For evening commuters entering the station, the attack brought familiar concerns close to their route home.
“In general, I think you have to be hyper alert,” Bronx resident Francisco Robles said. “In a weird way, you just have to have a 360 view of everything. Mind your business, but be alert.”
The victim is stable at the hospital. Police say the attacker wore a black ski mask and ran off.
In the Bronx, another man was stabbed aboard a northbound 2 train at the 108th Street Station hours earlier, officials said.
According to police, the 24-year-old was stabbed once in the torso. He’s also recovering from his injuries at the hospital.
“I’ve heard about crime decreasing in the city a lot recently, but from anecdotal things that I’ve been hearing recently, I don’t think that people feel a lot safer,” Manhattan resident Noah Pearlstein said.
Overall major crime on the subway rose less than 1% through September compared with the same time period last year, according to data. But felony assault rose 11%.
The NYPD says the overall count is still the second lowest in 15 years, excluding pandemic years.
“I always feel the NYPD’s presence in the subway is a good thing. It deters, but it doesn’t eliminate the issue,” Robles said.
For one straphanger, preventing the next attack also means understanding what’s behind it.
“I always come to the route of the question when it comes to that. Who’s doing these incidents, who’s creating these unfortunate circumstances? Just addressing those needs is what I find the best answer to any type of crime,” New Jersey resident Aldo Martinez said.
Police have not announced an arrest in either case, and what led to the attacks remains under investigation.