NEW YORK — A Brooklyn man was arrested after he allegedly stabbed a subway performer on the “L” train in Manhattan on Thursday, police said.
The 44-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon around 11:25 a.m. on Friday, the NYPD said.
The stabbing happened on a Brooklyn-bound train at First Avenue and 14th Street in the East Village just before 2 p.m. on Thursday, police said.
The 22-year-old victim was dancing on the train when he felt a bump and realized he had been stabbed several times in his right forearm and buttocks, according to police.
The suspect fled the train at First Avenue, sources told NY1. Police officers and MTA workers found the knife he allegedly used after he dropped it onto the tracks.
The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, police said.
According to the latest transit crime stats, there were 461 felony assaults in the subway system last year — 100 more cases than the prior year.
Riders say they are taking notice of the spike in crime.
"It's definitely, it's alarming. The city’s in a great place it’s coming back but it’s also struggling in a lot of ways," subway rider Brett Young said.
"I would just avoid it altogether or just take an Uber. It does cost obviously more expensive but the safety I’d rather do that at night," another straphanger, Nina Toumi, added