The NYPD has released security camera footage showing the man wanted for slashing three people in the face with a boxcutter near Union Square on Wednesday morning. Police say the rampage started on a northbound 4 train at Bleecker Street around 1:30 a.m., when the suspect approached the victim and suddenly punched him in the face "with the exposed blade of a box cutter in his hand." Here's security camera footage of the suspect entering the subway station:
The suspect fled the subway system at Union Square, slapping a woman in the face along the way. He ran up the stairs and emerged by the Food Emporium, where he encountered a 46-year-old man by the elevator. Police say he asked the man for $2, and when the man refused, he slashed the right side of his face.
The suspect then crossed 14th Street and approached a 59-year-old man waiting for the M14 bus. He asked the victim for a dollar, and when he refused, the suspect slashed him on the right side of his face. All four victims were treated at Bellevue Hospital and released.
The suspect's first victim was a 31-year-old Bronx resident named Randy Vasquez. He tells the Daily News that the suspect "was harassing people on the platform" at Broadway-Lafayette. "He was screaming his mind out. 'Why are you looking at me! Don't look at me!' He was swaying left to right. He wasn't stable. I thought, 'oh boy another day in New York.' "
When Vasquez boarded the train, the suspect hit him in the face with the exposed edge of the boxcutter. "I didn't realize I was stabbed until something was dripping down my cheek," he tells the tabloid.
The suspect remains at large. The NYPD says he was last seen wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, black vest, blue jeans and red sneakers.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call Crime stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime stoppers website or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.
