Person of interest in Queens stabbing spree taken into custody: sources
SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, Queens (WABC) -- Police have taken a person of interest into custody in connection to a stabbing spree in Queens, sources tell Eyewitness News.
It came within an hour of an NYPD news conference Wednesday evening, when they linked a man to several unprovoked stabbings within the past nine days.
Police say the assailant is suspected of randomly stabbing four people with a hunting knife in Queens the past two days, and a total of five since Jan. 8, according to police, and they are investigating whether the same person might be responsible for a separate subway stabbing in Brooklyn.
Three of the stabbings took place on Wednesday.
The first two stabbings were back-to-back attacks at 7:30 a.m. and 7:35 a.m. at 134th Avenue and 161st Street.
A 74-year-old man was stabbed in the lower abdomen while escorting his wife to work. The suspect then ran to 161st Street where he stabbed a 41-year-old man in the back while he was leaving his residence to move his car. Both victims were taken to Jamaica Hospital and are expected to survive.
WATCH | Joe Torres has more from Springfield Gardens on the Queens stabbings:
The third attack happened about 25 minutes later at Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue.
The 36-year-old victim was on his way to work when he boarded an MTA bus and sat next to the suspect. The victim and suspect then got into a verbal dispute over a seat. Police say they both exited the bus at Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue, where the suspect stabbed the victim once and fled on foot.
The suspect was described as a man wearing a black jacket with a green hoodie, black pants, black Adidas sneakers with white stripes and a grey winter mask.
Police passed out flyers with a terrifying photo of the man carrying a butcher knife.
They also released video of the man nervously pacing on a street in Springfield Gardens.
Police believe the attacker is behind at least two other attacks in recent days, also in the same neighborhood of Springfield Gardens.
Authorities believe the same suspect is responsible for stabbing a 34-year-old woman who was walking home from work just after midnight on Tuesday near 158th Street & 134th Avenue.
The woman was taken to the hospital and was said to be stable.
Police are also linking the suspect to a fifth incident on Jan. 8 where a 61-year-old man was stabbed in the lower back at the intersection of 157th Street and 137th Avenue.
The man was taken to the hospital and was said to be stable.
Meanwhile, the NYPD flooded officers into the subway system on Wednesday following the attacks.
They are also looking into whether that same suspect may have stabbed a man on the subway in Brooklyn hours later, based on similar descriptions.
A 28-year-old man was riding a northbound J subway train when a man walked up to him and stabbed him in in the abdomen in an unprovoked attack around 9:45 a.m. Wednesday.
The suspect got off the subway system at Flushing Avenue station and the victim got off at the Myrtle Avenue station. The victim's injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
The Chief of Detectives put a warning out on social media about the suspect.
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