Two men were attacked early Tuesday morning on a Midtown N-train at the 59th St./Lexington Ave. Station.
The incident occurred at about 4:45 a.m. on a downtown-bound train.
NYPD reports the two victims, both 42 years old, were on their way to work when they got into a verbal dispute with a 22-year-old homeless man, identified as Finn Barbuto.
Barbuto allegedly pulled out a folding knife and slashed both victims. The men, however, still managed to hold Barbuto at 59th St./Lexington Avenue until police arrived.
Barbuto is charged with two counts of assault and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
The victims were taken to New York-Presbyterian Hospital for treatment of lacerations. They are expected to recover.
A knife was recovered from the scene.
The incident is the latest in a disturbing recent uptick of violence inside city subways.
Interim Transit Authority President Sarah Feinberg called upon the city for more homeless outreach and more NYPD patrols in the subway.
"Continuing attacks in the subways system, while isolated and sporadic, are outrageous and unacceptable," Finberg said. "Every customer, and each of our brave, heroic transit workers deserves a safe and secure transit system. We continue to call on the city to surge mental health services into the subways — and while we appreciate the hundreds of NYPD officers that have been added to the system in recent weeks, we continue to believe more are needed as the city reopens and we welcome riders back.”
Statistics show that at least one person is attacked in the New York City Transit System every day.
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