Officials: Stabbings on New York subway leaves 3 hurt as officers shoot and kill knife-wielding man
NEW YORK (AP) — A man with a machete who attacked three people randomly at a major New York City subway station on Saturday morning was shot and killed by police, authorities said.
Officers responding to a 9:40 a.m. emergency call of an assault at the 42nd Street-Grand Central station encountered the man, the New York Police Department said.
He was behaving erratically and was ordered to drop his weapon 20 times but refused to comply, said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch at a news conference. He repeatedly claimed he was “Lucifer.” An officer then shot him twice.
“Our officers were confronted with an armed individual who had already injured multiple people and was continuing to pose a threat,” Tisch said. “They gave clear commands. They attempted to de-escalate. And when that threat did not stop, they took decisive action to stop it and to protect New Yorkers on one of the busiest train platforms in the city.”
Separately, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a social media post that the man later died.
The three stabbing victims — an 84 year-old male, 65-year-old male and 70-year-old female — sustained injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, said Tisch at a morning news conference.
One man sustained “significant lacerations to the head and face,” the other man had similar injuries and an open skull fracture and the third victim had a laceration to the shoulder.
Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said the attacks appear to be a random act.
Police were still investigating whether the stabbing started on the subway platform which services the 4,5 and 6 MTA trains or on one of the subways.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on social media that she was “grateful to our brave officers who acted quickly to stop the suspect. We’re working closely with the NYPD as the investigation unfolds.”
The police department, posting on X, urged travelers to avoid the area Saturday morning due to a police investigation and to expect delays and heavy traffic. The Metropolitan Transit Authority said some subway trains were not stopping at the station which is separate from regional train service at Grand Central.
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Robertson reported from Raleigh, N.C. Associated Press writer Hannah Fingerhut in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.
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