A man armed with a machete randomly attacked three people at a busy New York City subway station on Saturday morning. The suspect was ultimately shot and killed by police, according to authorities.
Officers were called to the 42nd Street–Grand Central station around 9:40 a.m. after reports of stabbings.
When they arrived, they found the suspect acting erratically and saying he was Lucifer, Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during a news briefing.
Officers repeatedly told him to drop the weapon, giving the command more than 20 times, but he refused.
At one point, he moved toward them with the knife still in his hand, and an officer fired twice.
Officials said the man had already hurt several people and was still a threat, so officers tried to calm the situation first. When that didn’t work, they used force to stop him.
Police later identified the individual as 44-year-old Anthony Griffin. He had three prior arrests on record and was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
The three victims, an 84-year-old man, a 65-year-old man, and a 70-year-old woman, were injured but are expected to survive.
One of the men had serious cuts to his head and face, while the other had similar injuries along with a skull fracture.
The woman suffered a cut to her shoulder.
According to police, the suspect first attacked someone on one platform at Grand Central, then went upstairs and injured the other two on a different platform.
Transit Chief Joseph Gulotta said the stabbings appear to have been random.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul later wrote on social media that she was thankful for the officers who responded quickly. She added that the state is working with the NYPD as the investigation continues.
Earlier in the day, police told commuters to stay away from the area and expect delays.
Due to the incident, subway service was disrupted for hours, but trains eventually began stopping at the station again later in the afternoon.
One commuter, Beau Lardner, had just entered Grand Central when he heard loud bangs, which he said he could hear through his headphones. He had recently moved to Long Island but still used that station regularly and knew the layout well.
He described seeing a huge crowd suddenly rushing toward him through the turnstiles, which made him run back up the stairs.
He said he had never seen people move like that before.
