A suspect is on the loose after allegedly stabbing someone on the New York City subway on New Year’s Day as the Big Apple sees a spike in transit crimes.
An unidentified suspect fled the 14th Street Station in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning after allegedly stabbing the 31-year-old man on a northbound 2 train before fleeing to the streets around 9:45am, police confirmed to DailyMail.com.
The suspect has been described as a black man who was seen wearing a black puffer jacket, dark sweatpants, and carrying a red suitcase.
The MTA confirmed police were responding to a ‘disruptive’ person at the station and told riders to expect delays on the red line.
The suspect allegedly fled the station through the 12th Street and 7th Avenue exit.
‘The investigation remains ongoing,’ an NYPD spokesperson told DailyMail.com.
The victim sustained back injuries and was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, the spokesperson said.
Police are canvasing the area for the suspect, who remains at large.
An unidentified suspect fled the 14th Street station in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday morning after allegedly stabbing the victim on a northbound 2 train before fleeing to the streets (Pictured: 14th Street Station in January 2022)
Leading up to the New Year, New Yorkers have faces a series of brutal subway crimes, including the death of a woman who was set on fire by a migrant.
Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey, was allegedly set on fire by illegal immigrant Sebastian Zepeta, who cops say used a lighter before fanning the flames with his shirt.
Zepeta, 33, is facing murder and arson charges following the horror incident.
Officials used fingerprint data, dental records and DNA evidence to identify Kawam, and said she was believed to have been homeless. She was originally from Tom’s River, New Jersey.
Kawam was reportedly sleeping on the subway car around 7:30am at the Coney Island-Stillwell Avenue station in Brooklyn when she was set ablaze.
The footage of the moments after Kawam was set on fire went viral as it showed an NYPD officer walking past the fire while a man, allegedly Zepeta, watched on.
NYPD Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told a press conference that officers who responded were not aware the suspect was on the scene at the time.
Another man, Kamel Hawkins, 23, was charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault after allegedly shoving a stranger in front of an oncoming subway train.
The woman who was set on fire and burned to death on a New York City subway car (seen in footage) has been identified as Debrina Kawam, 57, of New Jersey
She was allegedly set on fire by illegal immigrant Sebastian Zepeta
Kamel Hawkins, 23, (pictured in gray) was charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault after he allegedly shoved a person onto the subway tracks on Tuesday
Surveillance video showed the unnamed victim, 45, standing by the edge of the platform as the train approached at 18th street in Chelsea, Manhattan about 1:30pm on Tuesday.
Hawkins, wearing a mask, paced behind the man for several seconds before pushing him onto the tracks as a train approached. The man miraculously survived.
As more violent crime strikes the subway system, the Guardian Angels vigilante group has once again started patrolling the platforms and subway cars.
Founder Curtis Sliwa announced on Sunday that the 150-member group will travel from train car to train car to conduct wellness checks and alert Metropolitan Transportation Authority police of any potential dangers.
‘Our job is [to] do a wellness check on a homeless person, if they are homeless or emotionally disturbed, see if they are OK,’ he told the New York Post from the Stillwell Avenue/Coney Island station – where a woman was burned alive last week.
‘If all of a sudden we walk into a situation where there’s an episode, which oftentimes happens, we have to calm it down,’ Sliwa said.
‘A lot of times, these homeless and emotionally disturbed persons, they know of the Guardian Angels, so we could have a calming effect,’ he explained.
‘We can also bring the situation to the attention of the cops on the platform,’ he continued, claiming that the police are just patrolling the platforms and not the subway trains.
Curtis Sliwa, the founder of the Guardian Angels, announced on Sunday that the 150-member group will start traveling from train car to train car to conduct wellness checks and alert Metropolitan Transportation Authority police of any dangers
He claimed crime on the New York City subway system is as bad as it was when he first founded the group in 1979
‘That’s why we always stick our heads out at the station, and we always check to the north to the south.
‘If there are any police officers, we would hold the door open, tell the conductor we need the police here.’
Despite the recent spike in deadly or nearly fatal subway incidents, transit crime is actually down 5.4 percent in 2024, compared to 2023.
Overall violent crime was down three percent.
