In latest NYC subway violence, an MTA worker was stabbed while on his way to work

NEW YORK, NY - In the latest act of violence on New York City’s subway system, recently declared by Gov. Kathy Hochul as entirely safe, an off-duty MTA employee was stabbed Thursday morning, The New York Post reports. 

Authorities say the man was on his way to work at the Pelham Parkway station in the early morning hours when an unidentified man stabbed him in the armpit after engaging in a verbal dispute. The victim was transported to the hospital and was reported in stable condition, police said. 

The incident is the latest act of violence to plague the city’s subways, even after Hochul deployed members of the New York National Guard to help police patrol the system. Last week, a New Jersey woman was set ablaze by an illegal alien while she slept on an “F” train on Coney Island. The woman died from her injuries.

Earlier last week, two men, ages 48 and 52, were slashed in separate attacks, The Post reported. 

On Tuesday afternoon, a man was pushed into the path of a subway train in Manhattan and had to be rescued by FDNY firefighters. ABC-7 in New York reports that a man was standing close to the edge of the subway platform when a man approached and shoved in in front of a train at 18th Street. The 45-year-old victim was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition with multiple injuries, including a ruptured spleen and fractured skull. 

About an hour after the incident, NYPD officers arrested the suspect, Kamel Hawkins, 23, of Brooklyn. 

A witness described the incident. 

“It was absolutely violent, just a full lounge [sic] shove towards the man, just pushing him onto the tracks, the man screamed as he was falling,” the witness said. 

Another witness, identified as Andrea, was still shaken as she spoke to ABC-7. 

“I don’t know how, this poor man,” she said. 

Hawkins was charged with attempted murder and assault and was held in jail. He’s due back in court on Jan. 6. He has nine prior arrests. On October 12, 2024, he was charged with assault, harassment, and weapons possession. In June 2019, he was charged with assaulting an NYPD officer, resisting arrest, obstructing governmental administration, and disorderly conduct. In other words, a career criminal who has again taken advantage of New York’s soft-on-criminal policies. 

Andrea told ABC-7 she got a “weird vibe” from Hawkins. 

“I actually got a very weird vibe from him; I don’t know if it was the way he dressed. He had a facemask on. He had his hood up, made eye contact with him, just got a very weird vibe. So I just immediately sat down on the bench,” she said. 

After the incident, Andrea called 911. 

“I just panicked even just telling this story now; I’m just starting to shake,” she said. 

New York Mayor Eric Adams has faced criticism from those who oppose his policies to get people off the subway system who are sleeping or appear to be in mental distress. While overall crime was lower on the subway system in 2024 and has been trending down for 15 years, the perception of New Yorkers doesn’t match with reality. 

“People don’t want to hear that. They say, ‘someone just got burned, Eric.’ If someone is shoved to the subway system on the tracks, people are seeing and feeling what they’re reading. So our success is overshadowed,” Adams said. 

After the high-profile attacks on the subway system, the Guardian Angels, led by Curtis Sliwa, announced they would return to patrolling subway cars for the first time since 2020. 

NYPD data showed that as of last Sunday, the system had recorded 573 felony assaults in 2024, nearly matching the 572 investigated by the NYPD during the same period in 2023.