Photo: Spencer Platt / Getty Images News / Getty Images
Three people were stabbed by a man wielding a machete at Grand Central Terminal in New York City on Saturday morning, prompting a swift police response that ended with the suspect being shot and killed by officers. The attack took place around 9:40 a.m. on Saturday (April 11), when a civilian alerted police to a man attacking people with a knife on two subway platforms.
New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers encountered the suspect, 44-year-old Anthony Griffin, on the 4, 5, and 6 train platform. Griffin was armed with a machete and behaving erratically, repeatedly claiming he was "Lucifer." Despite at least 20 commands to drop the weapon and attempts to de-escalate, Griffin advanced toward the officers, prompting one officer to shoot him twice. Griffin was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The victims—an 84-year-old man, a 65-year-old man, and a 70-year-old woman—suffered various injuries. The 84-year-old and 65-year-old men sustained significant lacerations to the head and face, with the younger man also suffering an open skull fracture. The 70-year-old woman was cut on her shoulder. All three were hospitalized, and their injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Commissioner Tisch described the attacks as "random acts." Security footage showed Griffin entering the subway at Vernon Boulevard in Queens before traveling to Grand Central, where he attacked the first victim on the 7 train platform and then two more on the 4, 5, and 6 platform.
Police recovered the weapon at the scene and have launched an internal investigation. The NYPD plans to release body-worn camera footage of the incident. New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani expressed gratitude for the officers’ rapid response and stated that they are closely monitoring the investigation.
Trains on the 4, 5, and 6 lines were not stopping at Grand Central as of Saturday afternoon, and service on the 5 train was suspended between Grand Central and 86th Street. The 7 line was also experiencing delays.
The investigation remains ongoing.