Man Allegedly Made Homophobic Comments to N.Y.C. Subway Passenger, Then Slashed Him with Box Cutter: Police

Milton Hamlin has been charged with assault and hate-crime, among other offenses, police say

Police in New York have arrested a man accused of slashing a passenger on the subway after spewing anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric at him, authorities say.

Milton Hamlin, 46, was arrested by New York Police Department officials on Tuesday in connection with the incident that took place on Friday, the NYPD confirms with PEOPLE.

Authorities charged him with hate crime, assault, a menacing hate crime and menacing, the NYPD said in a statement to PEOPLE.

On Friday evening, Hamlin allegedly approached the victim on the subway and accosted him with bigoted statements, the statement said.

The two allegedly got into an argument before the attack, police said, CBS previously reported.

Hamlin then allegedly slashed the victim, a 27-year-old, with a box cutter, per police. The victim was taken to the hospital while the suspect remained on the train.

The incident took place as the train was approaching the 34th Street-Penn Station station in Midtown Manhattan, one of the busiest in the city, according to police.

By Monday, police were investigating the incident as a hate crime, CBS News reported.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Authorities were not immediately able to apprehend Hamlin and initially circulated his photo, asking for the public’s assistance, per the NYPD statement.

Plea information for Hamlin was not immediately available. PEOPLE has reached out to a lawyer listed for Hamlin in online court records for further comment.

Hamlin is scheduled to appear in court on Friday, online court records show.

For more People news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on People.