Police from the 102nd Precinct in Richmond Hill and Transit District 20 are on the lookout for a man who allegedly pulled a knife on a J train rider and assaulted him in mid-September.
The assault occurred on the night of Monday, Sept. 16, while the 31-year-old victim was onboard a southbound J train approaching the 104th Street subway station in Richmond Hill at around 10:45 p.m.
A stranger approached him and, without saying a word, pulled out a blade and slashed him across one of his thumbs, police said. The assailant ran off the subway and out of the station onto Jamaica Avenue near 102nd Street and fled in an unknown direction. The victim refused medical attention at the scene.
The NYPD released a surveillance image of the suspect on Tuesday and asked for the public’s assistance in ascertaining his identity and the whereabouts of the alleged slasher. He is described as having a dark complexion and a heavy build. He was last seen wearing a blue short-sleeved button-down shirt with a patch on the left shoulder, the type of shirt frequently worn by security guards. The alleged attacker also wore a black vest, black cargo pants, and a black baseball cap.
Anyone with information regarding this assault investigation is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.
Through Sept. 29, the 102nd Precinct has reported 247 felony assaults so far in 2024, 45 fewer than the 292 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 15.4%, according to the most recent CompStat report. Transit crimes are also down in the precinct with seven reported so far this year, one fewer than the eight reported at the same point in 2023, a decrease of 12.5%, according to CompStat.
