A stabbing on a subway left one 32-year-old man dead on Sunday as public transportation crime is on the rise in New York City, according to PIX11 News.
Police say the suspect fatally stabbed the rider in the neck as the train approached Penn Station, according to New York’s PIX11 News.
The unidentified suspect fled the scene shortly after. New York City Police estimate a recent surge in felonies aboard public transit to be around 25% after a brief decline in spring, according to Fox 5 NY. (RELATED: 3 Stabbed At NYC Subway Station)
There were 96 grand larcenies in the subway system in September, according to police, Fox 5 NY reported.
Police believe the victim, who was pronounced dead after being rushed to a local hospital, may have been asleep at the time of the attack.
“This is an absolutely horrible crime. We are working with the NYPD and will do everything possible to cooperate with their search for this perpetrator, and help make sure our subways are safe,” a spokesperson for the MTA said, according to the outlet.
Members of the NYPD say the city saw an 18% increase in robberies from August to September and the number of grand larcenies that occurred in the city’s subway system in September rose to 94 from 64 in August and 55 in July, the outlet reported.
🚨WANTED for HOMICIDE: Do you know this guy? On 11/21/21 at approximately 12:17 AM, on board a northbound “2” train near Penn Station, the suspect stabbed a 32-year-old male in the neck, causing his death. Any info? DM @NYPDTips, or anonymously call them at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/Xb4dmW6DDC
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) November 21, 2021
Authorities say the suspect involved in Sunday’s stabbing has not yet been identified. He last seen wearing “a white baseball hat, a black face mask, a gray jacket, a white shirt with an orange and black checkered hood, black pants and black shoes,” PIX11 News reported.