STAB WAS HATE CRIME
Cops: Subway attacker used anti-gay slur in music flap
An assailant spewed anti-gay slurs when he stabbed a stranger on a Bronx subway train for playing music too loud — and then changed his clothes as he fled to avoid being caught, police said Thursday.
The attacker demanded the 31-year-old victim turn down his music on a Wakefield-bound No. 2 train approaching the Third Ave-E. 149th St. station about 1 a.m. Wednesday.
“Turn the music down, f——t!” the man yelled before he pulled out a blade and stabbed the victim in the right forearm, according to cops.
Medics rushed the victim to Lincoln Hospital in stable condition.
The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the stabbing, which took place on the first day of Pride month in New
York City.
The stabber, dressed in dark blue clothing with a black bandanna and sunglasses, ran out of the station and down Brook Ave. He changed clothes at some point to avoid being spotted on the street, according to cops.
During a video canvass of the area, cops recovered surveillance images of the suspect wearing two sets of clothing within the span of a few minutes, an NYPD spokesman said.
The suspect has not been caught.
Cops on Thursday released surveillance images (above) of the suspect in the hope that someone recognizes him.
The attack was the second stabbing in less that 24 hours in the city’s subway system, with both now being investigated as hate crimes.
In the earlier incident, a 39-year-old man got into a quarrel with his attacker on a Brooklyn F train and was slashed in the chest and back of the neck about 3:10 p.m. Tuesday. Racial slurs were uttered by both men, police said. Cops released surveillance images of that suspect Thursday as well.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
The city has seen a 13% increase in assaults in the subway system so far this year. As of May 29, 250 assaults had been investigated by Transit Bureau police officers — 30 more than the same time last year.