A 38-year-old man from Brooklyn was fatally stabbed Friday morning during rush hour after an altercation broke out on a downtown No. 5 train in Manhattan, authorities said.
According to law enforcement, the confrontation began when one man accidentally stepped on the other’s shoe. As the train approached the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station, one of the men stabbed the other. After both exited the train at the station, the attacker stabbed the victim again.
Police arrived around 8:30 a.m. in response to a 911 call and found the victim—identified as John Sheldon—unconscious on the platform with multiple chest wounds. He was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. (Police initially misidentified him as Sheldon John.)
The suspect, believed to be in his 30s, fled the station. No arrests had been made as of Friday afternoon. Investigators believe the men did not know each other prior to the incident.
At the scene later that morning, blood was visible near the platform’s edge. Police had cordoned off the area as downtown trains bypassed the station, leaving uptown commuters watching the scene unfold in shock.
This marks the first subway homicide of the year and comes at a tense moment for the MTA, which is locked in a dispute with the Trump administration over transit funding. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has publicly criticized the subway system as unsafe and has threatened to withhold federal support unless the MTA reduces crime.
Despite these claims, subway crime has been on the decline. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch credits the drop to an increased police presence on trains and platforms. Major subway crime fell 18% in the first quarter of the year, with no murders reported during that time for the first time in seven years. Overall transit crime was down nearly 11% compared to the same period last year, though slight increases have been seen recently.
Still, high-profile incidents over the past two years have fueled ongoing concerns about subway safety. Friday’s fatal stabbing may heighten those fears.
While some have questioned the growing police presence, others say it’s not enough.
“Sometimes I’d rather walk 30 or 40 minutes because once you’re on the train and it starts moving, you can’t really get out,” said Elizabeth Daley, 20, as she waited on the uptown platform.
Others appeared resigned to such events.
“It’s disturbing, but it’s New York. Stuff like this happens,” said Jonathan Ricket, a 19-year-old Pace University student from Newburgh, N.Y.
“I’m just glad I didn’t witness it.”
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