Man saying he was Lucifer slashes 3 in NYC subway attack, shot dead by police
A man armed with a machete who repeatedly said he was Lucifer slashed three people at Grand Central in New York City before he was shot and killed by police, according to officials. The victims suffered significant but non-life threatening injuries.
The attack happened at about 9:40 a.m. Saturday after two detectives assigned to transit overtime posts were flagged down by a civilian who said a man with a knife had stabbed multiple people on a subway platform, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Tisch said the detectives moved toward the 4, 5 and 6 train platform and encountered one of the victims coming up the stairs, confirming the attack. From the top of the stairs, they saw the suspect on the platform and ordered him to drop the weapon.
The man was armed with a large knife, described as a machete, and was behaving erratically while repeatedly saying he was Lucifer. He refused at least 20 orders to drop the weapon and officers also tried to de-escalate the situation by telling him: “We are going to get you help.”
Instead, the suspect advanced toward the detectives with the knife extended, Tisch said. One officer then fired, striking him twice. Officers began life-saving measures at the scene, but the suspect was pronounced dead after being taken to a hospital.
Police identified the suspect as 44-year-old Anthony Griffin. Tisch said he had three prior arrests known to the NYPD, but no documented emotionally disturbed person history with the department.
According to a review of security camera footage, Griffin entered the subway system at the Vernon Boulevard station in Queens at about 9:30 a.m. He then took a 7 train to Grand Central, where police say he first slashed an 84-year-old man on the 7 train platform before going upstairs to the 4, 5 and 6 platform and attacking two more people.
The 84-year-old suffered significant lacerations to the head and face, Tisch said. A 65-year-old man suffered similar injuries along with an open skull fracture, while the third victim, a woman, suffered a laceration to her shoulder. Police said the attacks appear to have been random.
All three victims were taken to the hospital and their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, Tisch said. Mayor Zohran Mamdani later said the victims were in stable condition.
No officers were injured. Tisch said the entire incident was captured on body-worn camera and remains under investigation.
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