QUEENS, New York (WABC) — New York City police are questioning the 25-year-old man accused of stabbing a fellow train rider to death with a kitchen knife.
Jyrell Thomas was taken to Jamaica Hospital for a psych evaluation on Thursday morning. He is described by police as emotionally disturbed.
He was later arrested on charges of murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
He got into a verbal dispute with a 59-year-old man from Queens on the northbound J train on Wednesday around 5:30 p.m.
The dispute continued onto the platform, where the victim, Mesias Lojano, was stabbed multiple times in the chest and neck.
The suspect dropped a serrated kitchen knife and fled, but at least four other riders pointed him out to nearby officers.
They chased him to the roof of a nearby garage, where he was taken into custody.
Police say the argument started in the car and spilled out onto the platform.
This is the sixth homicide in the subway system this year. There were four murders in the system all of last year, and 10 in 2024.
There has been a 7% increase in assaults in the subway this year, with 441 vs 410 at this time last year.
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