Man, 61, bloodied during subway assault while 34-year-old attacked with metal object in latest MTA violence
A straphanger was thumped in the back of the head with a metal object and another rider was whacked with an umbrella on Tuesday in the latest assaults in Big Apple subway stations.
In the first attack, a 34-year-old man was hit over the head with an unknown metal object in an unprovoked attack at the Grand Avenue-Newtown station in Queens around 12:50 p.m., police said.
He was on the stairs leaving the station when a male assailant came up from behind and launched the attack, according to cops.
The victim was taken to Queens Hospital Center with non-life-threatening injuries. No arrests have been made.
Hours later, a 61-year-old man was left bloodied in an assault at the 86th Street station on the Upper East Side.
That victim, David Beaglehole, said he was walking out the station around 4:30 p.m. when a male suspect jabbed him in the left hand with an umbrella after the two exchanged words.
He said he was exiting the turnstile when the suspect “kept bumping” him with the umbrella he was using as a walking stick.
“And I turned around and said ‘please don’t do that,’” Beaglehole said. “And then I kept walking toward … the turnstile and then this guy was again aggressive and I took out my phone. He said ‘put that down’ and he swung this long umbrella and hit my thumb.”
Beaglehole said he then followed the perpetrator and tried to snap a photo of him on his phone before the suspect tried to shove him down an escalator.
The suspect was still on the lam Tuesday night.
“I think that he obviously has anger and aggression issues, but I don’t want to encounter people like that when I’m commuting home from work,” Beaglehole said.
“I see it as hopefully an isolated incident,” he added.
But subway crime has spiked nearly 20% compared to the same time frame from last year, according to NYPD data – with no signs of it slowing down.
One rider at the Queens station told The Post hours after the first attack that the subway violence surge is undeniable.
“It’s always been bad but it’s definitely worse,” said the woman, who did want to be named. “For the first time in my life I’m actually considering a work-from-home job just to avoid traveling on the subway.”
Mayor Eric Adams said during a press briefing Tuesday the city was trying to find a “new norm for patrolling our subway systems,” that includes a greater police presence and further bag checks.
Gov. Kathy Hochul is expected to make an announcement Wednesday about new legislation that would bolster subway security.
On Sunday, a 64-year-old rider was kicked onto the roadbed inside Penn Station by a stranger and a 19-year-old woman socked in the face during an argument with another woman.
Last week, a conductor was viciously slashed in the neck in a random attack.
There have also been multiple fatal subway shootings since the start of 2024.
Additional reporting by Nolan Hicks
