Across the country, attacks occurring on public transit systems seem to have increased. After fear has been spreading across the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community due to them being the main target of violence, many states have introduced legislation in efforts to combat hate on public transit. After California introduced at least two bills Thursday addressing violence on public transportation services, New York made moves.
Alongside New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to combat transit crime in the city on Friday. However, within 24 hours of announcing this new plan, at least five people were stabbed in the subway system. That number later increased to six when another person was stabbed Sunday evening. According to NBC News, the 17-page plan was to take effect Monday.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) told NBC News that the first of the six attacks were reported Friday night. In that incident, a male victim was allegedly injured in the forearm. He was sent to the hospital in stable condition. Four of the other incidents were reported on Saturday. One involved a 20-year-old woman being punched in the back moments before a man allegedly stabbed her three times in the abdomen following a verbal argument. This woman was also taken to the hospital in stable condition.
According to NBC News, major crimes in transit are up 65% this year, with an average of one victim every four hours. The city’s plan details how the administration will focus on public safety concerns and support people experiencing homelessness across the city. Additionally, the plan addresses mental illness on the city’s subways, to which officials attribute most crimes.
"The subway system and our bus system, they are the lifeblood of our city," Adams said when announcing the plan. "If we don't get them right, our city won't continue to recover from Covid. Millions of New Yorkers use the system to go to school, to go to their place of employment and just to visit their loved ones. It provides a vital service."
The mayor's announcement came a day after a 22-year-old man was stabbed on a Brooklyn-bound train in an unprovoked attack. According to the plan, NYPD officials will also be trained to enforce MTA and New York City Transit Authority rules of conduct. NYPD officers will enforce subway violations such as "sleeping across multiple seats, exhibiting aggressive behavior to passengers, or creating an unsanitary environment," the city said in a press release.
The stabbings also come amid calls for better safety on public transit following the death of Michelle Go, a 40-year-old woman who died when she was shoved in front of a New York subway car last month.
“The assaults in the subway are absolutely terrible,” Danny Pearlstein of Riders Alliance, an organization working to improve the subway, told WCBS.
He added that while the city is taking measures to address the violence, New Yorkers themselves should also be aware and help. He used the change of atmosphere in city parks as an example.
“People had very little to do and they went to the parks, and as a result parks became much safer than they had been before,” he said. “And tragically, the subway became more dangerous, and that’s why we feel everything that the transit can do to bring more riders to the system is ultimately what will make it safer for everyone there.”
According to ABC News affiliate WCBS, one of the victims from this weekend said this isn’t the first time this has happened to him. The 24-year-old identified as Victor Mendoza was stabbed with a box cutter after two teens tried to rob him.
“They wanted to rob my wallet, but I defended myself. First I grabbed him from here by the door of the entrance of the train. I pushed. And that’s when the other person came with a knife and hit me here. So I had to let him go so they wouldn’t hurt me more,” Mendoza said.
Mendoza added that while this is the second time he has been attacked at a subway station, it is the first time he reported it.
“The first time I didn’t tell the police. But this time, I had to tell the police,” he said.
Unfortunately, the subway attacks are still ongoing.
On Monday morning, two separate assaults were reported, according to CNN. Police officials said that one included a man allegedly swinging a hatchet, while the other was a man striking a female in the face with a metal pipe. The victim in the hatchet case successfully avoided being struck. The suspect, who has been taken into custody, allegedly had a punch dagger and screwdriver on him as well, CNN reported.