NYPD says person of interest in possible needle attack at Midtown subway station was not involved

MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- Police now say a man depicted on surveillance video as a person of interest in a needle attack at a busy Midtown subway station Wednesday night was not involved in the attack.

The investigation is ocntinuing.

A 37-year-old woman was at a subway station at Seventh Avenue and 49th Street just before 7 p.m. waiting for the R subway when she felt a slight pain in her right arm. According to the New York City Police Department, an unknown man had bumped into her from behind.

When she went home, she realized she had been punctured in the shoulder.

She was taken to Astoria General Hospital, where it was determined she may have been punctured with a needle.

Police are looking for a man in his 40s. He is described as white, 6 feet tall, 250 pounds, wearing eyeglasses, and partially bald with short blonde hair. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a gray hooded sweatshirt and a blue waist-length jacket.

Her attack came at a time when subway slashings and stabbings in the city are now double what they were last year during the same time.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call 1-800-577-TIPS (