Suspect dead after ‘horrific’ Grand Central stabbing in NYC
A man wielding a machete stabbed three people on two New York City subway platforms before police fatally shot him on Saturday, city officials said.
At around 9:40 a.m., a bystander flagged two New York City police detectives, saying a man stabbed multiple people at Grand Central Terminal, in Midtown Manhattan, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters.
The man is accused of stabbing an 84-year-old man on the 7 train subway platform prior to NYPD’s arrival, as well as a 70-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man on the 4, 5, 6 trains subway platform, police said.
Gov. Kathy Hochul called the stabbing “horrific.”
“New Yorkers deserve to feel safe every time they step onto a train platform, and we will do everything it takes to protect them,” she said in a social media post.
Police found the man acting erratically and saying he was “Lucifer,” Tisch said. The man refused to comply with at least 20 orders by police to drop the knife, Tisch said, adding police also attempted to de-escalate and offer him help. He then advanced toward police with the knife extended, she said.
An officer discharged his firearm, Tisch said. The man, identified by Tisch as 44-year-old Anthony Griffin, was transported by EMS to a local hospital in critical condition where he was pronounced dead.
The officers were wearing body cameras that captured the entire incident, Tisch said. The incident is still under investigation, but police said the stabbings appeared to be random.
“Our officers were confronted with an armed individual who had already injured multiple people and was continuing to pose a threat,” Tisch told reporters. “They gave clear commands, they attempted to de-escalate, and when that threat did not stop, they took decisive action to stop it and to protect New Yorkers on one of the busiest train platforms in the city.”
The three victims were transported to a local hospital in stable condition, and Tisch said their injuries don’t appear to be life-threatening. The 84-year-old man had significant lacerations to his head and face, Tisch said. She described the 65-year-old man as receiving similar injuries along with a skull fracture. The 70-year-old woman had a laceration to her shoulder, Tisch said.
No officers were injured.
“I’m grateful to the NYPD for their quick response and for preventing additional violence,” New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in an X post.
Mamdani said it is department policy for all incidents involving police discharging firearms to have an internal investigation and to release body camera footage.
Tisch said Griffin had three prior arrests.
On Saturday morning, NYPD urged the public to avoid the area of Grand Central, a popular transit hub. The stabbings impacted just the subway portion of Grand Central, with some trains temporarily bypassing the station, according to Bill Amarosa, executive vice president of subways at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
“Grand Central is one of the busiest stations in the subway system,” he told reporters. “We are concerned about making sure our customers can get where they need to go this weekend.”
While the stabbings caused concern, New York City has continued to see declines in violent crimes, according to NYPD data. New York City saw the fewest murders and shootings for the first quarter of the year in recorded history, city officials announced April 2. Transit crime is slightly lower than it was a year ago.
Tisch said NYPD has increased its presence in the city’s extensive transit system, including subway patrols.
(This story has been updated to add new information)
Eduardo Cuevas is based in New York City. Reach him by email at emcuevas1@usatoday.com or on Signal at emcuevas.01.
This article originally appeared on USA Today
Reporting by Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today
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