“The bottom line is that the public should know: They can expect a very large footprint of uniformed officers deployed all over New York City, whether on a train or on a platform,” said Shea.
Shea said the four attacks took place on Line A, a subway line between north Manhattan and Queens.
In addition to the two deaths, two more victims are recovering from their injuries. All four victims were homeless and the attacks seem unprovoked, said Deputy Chief Brian McGee, the commander of the Manhattan North detective agency.
The attacks began on Friday morning when a 67-year-old man was stabbed by an unknown man at 181 Street station in Upper Manhattan and later treated at a nearby hospital, NYPD chief of transit Kathleen O’Reilly told reporters.
An adult male was found dead with “stab wounds to the neck and torso” on Friday around 11:30 p.m. on the A train at Far Rockaway-Mott Avenue train station in Queens, O’Reilly said.
About two hours later on Saturday, an unconscious 44-year-old woman was found in a train carriage at 207 Street Station Inwood in Upper Manhattan with “multiple stab wounds,” O’Reilly said. The woman was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead, O’Reilly said.
Less than 20 minutes after that incident, police officers responded to calls about a 43-year-old man who had been stabbed at 181 Street station. He told officers that he had been stabbed by an unknown man and, according to McGee, taken to a hospital where he underwent surgery.
“Three of these incidents appear to be related and the investigation agency is investigating the possibility that all four could have been committed by one person,” said O’Reilly.
The NYPD will publish an image of the unknown culprit as soon as possible, McGee said. Officials are asking anyone who has information about the four stabbing incidents to contact the police.
“We don’t have much about the culprit at the moment,” said McGee.