Reports from officials say that a verbal dispute took place on the train, with the attacker yelling “Yo big ass want to sit down with your legs crossed, faggot” at the victim. This escalated into a fight which spilled onto the platform when the train stopped at Penn Station. The suspect then stabbed the victim with an unknown object before fleeing.
The NYPD’s HCTF (Hate Crimes Task Force) is investigating an attack that took place on a Manhattan train just hours after New York City’s Pride weekend. This comes one week after a young transgender woman was stabbed on the subway with a screwdriver.
Police say that the suspect in the latest attack was shouting anti-gay slurs on a busy subway train around Pride attendees, before allegedly stabbing a 29-year-old man.
The victim was able to take himself to hospital where he was treated for stab wounds to his chest and torso. His injuries were described as non-life threating and police are continuing to investigate.
🚨WANTED for HATE CRIME ASSAULT: On 6/28/21 at approx 3:30 AM, on a northbound "2" train near W 34 & 7 Ave in Manhattan, the suspect made anti-gay statements, then stabbed a 29-year-old male in the chest & torso. Any info? DM @NYPDTips, or anonymously call them at 800-577-TIPS. pic.twitter.com/iW0NnA2oFU
— NYPD NEWS (@NYPDnews) June 29, 2021
Just one week earlier a transgender woman was followed on the subway before being stabbed – this time with a screwdriver – by a man yelling anti-trans slurs.
The incident took place at Broadway and Fulton Street subway station in Lower Manhattan and the woman is said to have managed to mace the attacker whilst being stabbed her in the ankle and forehead, with the attacker then fleeing the scene. The HCTF are also investigating this.
The victim – 27-year-old Nina Grey – told ABC: “I just wish that all of this hate could stop. Not just in the LGBT community, but all across the board, because people’s lives matter not just trans, Black, Hispanic, Asian lives — people’s lives matter and I think that’s the point. People matter.”
Grey was taken to New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to the New York Post.
Transit officials say that having NYPD police officers ramp up patrols on the subway has had an impact, with violent assaults down more than 50% in recent weeks:
“We have seen a downward trend which is great, but it is not sufficient to make us take our foot off the pedal,” MTA Chief Safety Officer Pat Warren said in a statement. “We have got to get to a point where customers feel comfortable in the system.”