Suspect arrested 1 month after chemical attack in Brooklyn subway station
PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS, Brooklyn (WABC) -- Police say they have arrested a suspect in the chemical attack last month on a woman in a Brooklyn subway station.
The incident happened early on December 2 at the station between Winthrop Street and Nostrand Avenue in Prospect Lefferts Gardens.
Police say the suspect, Rodlin Gravesande, 33, got into an argument with the victim and splashed an unknown chemical substance on her face.
The 21-year-old victim was taken to a local hospital to be treated for her burns.
"Literally this was the most horrid thing I've ever been through, it was really burning a lot. So I ran to my job. That's all I was thinking about doing," said the victim, who did not want to reveal her identity.
The woman says her healthcare training kicked in and she focused on getting help.
"The first thing that went through my mind, I went to obvious healthcare mode, it wasn't really much of 'oh, I need to get revenge on this lady,' it's more 'I need to seek medical help immediately because I don't know what this is,'" she said.
Following the incident, officers patrolled the subway station and put up wanted posters of the attacker.
MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber spoke about the attack during a taping of 'Up Close' with Eyewitness News anchor Bill Ritter.
"We are going to work with the police, who are doing an investigation to figure it out. But we also need to bear in mind that if this is somebody who has mental illness, it really speaks to what the mayor is saying, and the government has already done to create mental health beds. We need a system that gets people with severe mental illness out of the public space and get them into treatment so they can get better," Lieber said.
The victim now says she won't be taking the train - but says the experience has given her a new perspective on her healthcare career and life.
Gravesande was charged with assault, police said.
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