NEW YORK (AP) — Three people were stabbed at a major New York City subway station Saturday morning by a man with a knife, according to authorities, who say that man was then shot by police on a station platform and later died.
The New York Police Department said officers responding to a 9:40 a.m. emergency call of an assault at the 42nd Street-Grand Central station encountered the man holding a weapon that law enforcement described as a machete.
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officer fired two shots and struck the suspect, said Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. In a social media post, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said 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.
Officials said earlier that two officers were also being evaluated at a hospital.
Tisch said two officers were flagged down by a civilian who said a man with a knife stabbed people on the platform.
Tisch said officers gave 20 orders to drop the knife.
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.
