Woman stabbed 4 times during attempted robbery at Queens subway station
RICHMOND HILL, Queens (WABC) -- A 23-year-old woman was stabbed during an attempted robbery on her way home from work at a subway station in Queens.
The victim was stabbed four times in the torso on the mezzanine level of the Jamaica-Van Wyck Station around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
She was taken to the nearby Jamaica Hospital where she is recovering. Her mother said she was worried her daughter would not make it.
She told Eyewitness News that her daughter is having trouble breathing and is still unable to speak, but was updated from critical to stable condition overnight.
Two good Samaritans were able to grab the suspect and hold him until police arrived on the scene.
Randol Contreras, 24, is a panhandler at the subway station and asked the victim for money. Police say she refused and that is when he stabbed her.
Contreras is charged with Attempted Murder, Attempted Robbery, Assault, Menacing and Criminal possession, according to police.
Witnesses say the suspect threw a knife in the garbage after the attack.
NYPD Chief of Transit Michael Kemper said Monday that crime is down 8% in the subway this year, and robberies are down 23%.
"What's even more remarkable is that the robberies experienced in the New York City subway system in 2024 is the lowest in recorded NYPD history," Kemper said.
In the month of June, overall crime was down 15% compared with June 2023.
However, transit activists say the numbers don't tell the whole story.
"All they're going by is the percent, they're trying to compare the percentages of crime form the last year to this year, forget about that, let's just focus on basics," said Charlton D'souza with Passengers United. "When people come down here and they see people urinating, people jumping the turnstiles, that scares people."
Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz released a statement saying, "A young woman is fighting for her life after being stabbed in an unprovoked attack as she exited the subway system. This defendant allegedly asked the victim for money and then stabbed the woman multiple times in the torso, leaving her with a punctured liver and lung, and slashed her face. Millions of New Yorkers rely on our mass transit system, and we will aggressively prosecute those that commit violence on our subways."
Contreras is due back in court on Friday, August 2.
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