New York police fatally shot a man after he stabbed three people at the 42nd Street–Grand Central subway station on Saturday morning, officials said. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers responded to reports of stabbings at about 9:40 a.m. and confronted Anthony Griffin, 44, at the station.
Tisch said Griffin behaved erratically and claimed he was “Lucifer.” She said officers ordered Griffin to drop his weapon at least 20 times, but he refused to comply.
Tisch said an officer shot Griffin twice when he advanced toward officers with the knife extended. She identified Griffin as Anthony Griffin and said he had three prior unsealed arrests, adding that he was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital.
Tisch said the three stabbing victims were two men, ages 84 and 65, and a 70-year-old woman, and that their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening. She said one man suffered “significant lacerations to the head and face,” the other man had similar injuries and an open skull fracture, and the woman suffered a laceration to the shoulder.
Tisch said Griffin slashed one person on a platform at Grand Central station before going upstairs and slashing the other victims on another platform. Transit Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said the attacks appeared to be random acts.
Gov. Kathy Hochul posted on social media that she was “grateful to our brave officers who acted quickly to stop the suspect,” adding that officials were working closely with the NYPD as the investigation unfolds. The police department also posted on X, advising travelers to avoid the area due to the police investigation and warning about delays and heavy traffic.
Subway service resumed at the station in the afternoon after trains bypassed it for hours, according to the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s website. A transit rider, Beau Lardner, told the AP he had been swiping in when he heard “bangs” loud enough to hear through headphones, prompting him to sprint back up the stairs as people rushed toward him at the turnstiles.
Lardner said he “never seen a crowd move like that,” and he described being familiar with the station after taking the same train from Grand Central for years.