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A New York City commuter was stabbed while riding on the subway earlier this week, marking the latest instance of random violence in public transit plaguing riders throughout the country.
Roberto Gaspar, 25, was checking his phone when a man approached him from behind while riding a No. 7 train at the 111th Street station in Queens on Sunday night, the New York Post reported.
The unknown attacker allegedly “stabbed him multiple times in the back with an unknown sharp object,” according to the NYPD.
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Gaspar was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition while the suspect “fled to parts unknown,” police said.
“He is serious, he can’t talk,” friend Tomas Calel told the Post. “He’s in the ICU. He’s hooked up to machines.”
Gaspar reportedly works 10-hour shifts five days a week at a Manhattan restaurant to earn money to send home to his family in Guatemala, and was on his way home from work when the attack occurred.
“I feel bad for him,” Calel said. “He didn’t see anything. He doesn’t know who did it.”
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Security footage shared by the NYPD shows the alleged suspect – described as having a light complexion, slim build and approximately 20 to 25 years old – flashing a toothy smile while onboard the train on the night of the attack.
“I’m angry. He didn’t do anything wrong,” Calel told the Post. “I believe [the attacker] is a bad guy. Why did he do that? I want them to catch this guy.”
For Calel, his friend’s attack has forced him to be fearful of riding the train at night.
“Sometimes I go [to work] by train, sometimes I go by bike,” Calel said. “I take the train at night, I come home at 10 at night. I’m afraid to take the train now because what happened to my friend could happen to me too.”
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The incident comes just weeks after Iryna Zarutska, 23, was stabbed to death while riding a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, sparking renewed fear regarding the safety of public transit throughout the country.
Zarutksa, who fled Ukraine to escape the war, was on her way home from working at a local pizzeria when she was allegedly approached by Decarlos Dejaun Brown Jr. and fatally stabbed in the neck. Last week, Brown was formally charged with alleged first-degree murder in the death of Zarutksa.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
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