NEW YORK, Feb 14 (NNN-AGENCIES) — A total of 500 more police officers will be deployed immediately to patrol New York City’s transit system both on ground and underground following four stabbing incidents within 24 hours, said New York Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Dermot Shea.
The separate incidents happened from Friday to early Saturday on A line subway trains or along its subway stations, leaving two people dead, said the NYPD in a press briefing.
Three of the incidents appeared to be connected, and all the victims appeared to be homeless, it added.
The crimes are just the latest in a string of violence in the subway across the city.
In Saturday’s violence, officials are investigating four total incidents, two of which were fatal, of stabbings and slashings that occurred on A line subway trains in less than 24 hours between Friday at 11:20 a.m. and Saturday at 1:28 a.m.
Officials say a man was found with numerous stab wounds to his neck and torso onboard an A train around 11:30 p.m. Friday night stopped at the Mott Avenue subway station in Far Rockaway, Queens.
EMS arrived and pronounced the unidentified victim dead at the scene.
Just two hours later, a 44-year-old woman was found with several stab wounds throughout her body on an A train at West 207th Street and Broadway around 1:30 a.m.
EMS also arrived and pronounced the female dead at the scene.
Officials say the two victims appear to have been homeless.
According to police, two more stabbings occurred at an A line subway station on West 181st Street in which a 43-year-old and 67-year-old were stabbed.
Both survived and were taken to area hospitals where they are recovering.
As police investigated the two separate killings, the NYPD on Saturday vowed to deploy 500 additional officers to patrol the system.
In a statement released Saturday afternoon, NYC Transit Interim President Sarah Feinberg called on the governor to provide resources to help address the mental health crisis.
NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea held a news conference Saturday afternoon regarding the recent string of attacks, vowing to step up efforts to protect the system.
He said the NYPD will increase patrols on the New York City transit system with an additional 500 officers.
According to a report by U.S. newspaper the Daily News, which cited anonymous law enforcement sources, police have arrested a homeless suspect on Saturday, and recovered the knife believed to be used in the incidents.
New York City’s subway system has been one of the places where homeless people prefer to stay overnight or make a living, which is seen as a public safety issue.
