Three injured in New York subway stabbing with machete
A man with a machete stabbed three people on two New York City subway platforms before police shot and killed them, officials said.
A man with a machete stabbed three people on two New York City subway platforms on Saturday, April 11, and was shot and killed by police, according to New York City authorities.
A bystander alerted two New York City police detectives to a man who allegedly stabbed multiple people at Grand Central Terminal in midtown Manhattan around 9:40 a.m., Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters.
Police say the man is suspected of stabbing an 84-year-old man on the 7th subway platform and a 70-year-old woman and a 65-year-old man on the 4th, 5th and 6th subway platforms before the NYPD arrived.
Gov. Kathy Hochul called the stabbing “horrifying.”
“New Yorkers should feel safe every time they step onto a train platform, and we will make every effort to protect New Yorkers,” she said in a social media post.
Tisch said police found the man acting erratically and saying he was “Lucifer.” The man refused to comply with at least 20 commands from police to drop the knife, Tisch said, adding that police also tried to de-escalate the situation and offer the man help. The man then advanced toward police with the knife extended, police said.
Tisch said the officer fired his weapon. The man, identified by Tisch as 44-year-old Anthony Griffin, was rushed to a local hospital in critical condition, where he was pronounced dead.
Tisch said the officers were wearing body-worn cameras that captured the entire incident. The incident is still under investigation, but police said the stabbing appeared to be random.
“Officers were confronted by an armed individual who had already injured multiple people and who continued to pose a threat,” Tisch told reporters. “They gave clear orders, tried to de-escalate tensions, and when the threat persisted, they took decisive action to stop it and protect New Yorkers on one of the city’s busiest train platforms.”
All three victims were taken to local hospitals in stable condition, and Tisch said their injuries do not appear to be life-threatening. The 84-year-old man suffered large lacerations to his head and face, Tisch said. She explained that a 65-year-old man suffered similar injuries along with a skull fracture. The 70-year-old woman suffered a laceration to her shoulder, Tisch said.
No police officers were injured.
“We are grateful to the NYPD for their quick response and prevention of further violence,” New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani told the X-Post.
Mamdani said it is the department’s policy to conduct an internal investigation and release body-worn camera footage of all incidents involving the discharge of a firearm by police.
Tisch said Griffin had been arrested three times in the past.
On Saturday morning, the New York City Police Department urged the public to avoid the Grand Central District, a popular transportation hub.
While stabbings are causing alarm, violent crime continues to decline in New York City, according to NYPD data. New York City had the lowest number of murders and shootings in the first quarter of this year, city officials announced on April 2. Traffic crime is down slightly compared to a year ago.
Tisch said the NYPD has increased its presence in the city’s broader transit system, including patrolling the subways.
(This article has been updated to add new information)
