The NYPD released surveillance video of the man who they believe slashed a Manhattan straphanger and tried to sit on his girlfriend this week.
The clip, released early Friday, shows the suspect getting off an N train at 42nd Street-Times Square before the 11 p.m. Wednesday attack.
Cops believe the man pictured here slashed an Upper West Side straphanger and tried to sit on his girlfriend this week. NYPDThe incident occured on a northbound No. 2 train at West 72nd Street and Broadway when the suspect tried to sit on the girlfriend of victim Sammi Tovar, 26, cops said.
Tovar told the man to “step back from his girlfriend,” prompting the assailant to display a kitchen knife and slash him in the lower leg and hand, authorities said.
The attack happened on a northbound No. 2 train at West 72nd Street and Broadway, cops said. Christopher SadowskiDuring the dust-up, the 34-year-old woman stepped in to defend her boyfriend, and sprayed the assailant with Mace, according to sources and police.
Tovar told The Post Thursday his girlfriend saved his life when she jumped in with the Mace.
Slashing victim Sammi Tovar, 26, said he believes his girlfriend saved his life when she pepper-sprayed the suspect. Kyle Schnitzer/NY Post
Tovar was stabbed in the left leg when he confronted the suspect. Kyle Schnitzer/NY Post
Police investigate the scene of the Wednesday night stabbing. Christopher Sadowski“He showed no signs of stopping after getting my leg,” Tovar said. “He had this weird look in his eyes.”
The knife-wielding man fled at the West 72nd Street and Broadway station and boarded a No. 1 train, cops said.
Tovar was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in stable condition with stab wounds to the leg and fingers. His girlfriend was not physically injured.
The suspect, seen getting off an earlier train at 42nd Street-Times Square, is believed to be about 50 years old. NYPDTovar said he feels helpless about the surging crime while his girlfriend, who did not want to give her name, said she now doesn’t want to ride the train at all.
“You feel like there’s nothing you can do to change it,” Tovar said. “Like, sometimes you feel helpless, and it takes being attacked to have some voice, at least temporarily.”
Police were still looking to track down the suspect Friday.
Members of the NYPD’s Evidence Collection Team respond to the scene of the attack at the West 72nd Street and Broadway station. Christopher SadowskiPolice say the suspect appears to be around 50 years old, about 5 feet 11 and 180 pounds with a dark complexion, medium build, brown eyes, brown hair and a gray beard.
He was last seen wearing a blue hooded jacket, black pants, a gray hooded sweatshirt and a black watch cap.
