What you should know
- The suspect who attacked a subway passenger with a hammer after bumping into the victim at a Manhattan station has been arrested and charged with multiple hate crimes, police said.
- Christian Jeffers was arrested Wednesday, department sources told our sister network NBC New York and police later confirmed. The 48-year-old was charged with assault, aggravated harassment and threats, each a hate crime. Jeffers also faces a weapons possession charge.
- The arrest comes less than 24 hours after Jeffers allegedly attacked another man at the 14th Street station, using a hammer to hit the victim in the head.
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NEW YORK — The suspect who attacked a subway passenger with a hammer after bumping into the victim at a Manhattan station has been arrested and charged with multiple hate crimes, police said.
Christian Jeffers was arrested Wednesday, department sources told our sister network NBC New York and police later confirmed. The 48-year-old was charged with assault, aggravated harassment and threats, each a hate crime. Jeffers also faces a weapons possession charge.
As police led him out of the police precinct, Jeffers told reporters that the other man at the station “shoved me.”
It was not immediately clear if Jeffers, whose last residence was listed as an address on the Upper West Side, had retained an attorney. Sources told NBC New York that Jeffers has been arrested more than 30 times in the past.
Police and the district attorney did not specify what led to the filing of hate crime charges. The MTA released a statement after the arrest, saying they are “grateful for the outstanding police work of the NYPD who were able to locate and arrest the person who attacked one of our passengers within 24 (hours) of the incident…we hope.” that this perpetrator of a hate crime be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
The arrest comes less than 24 hours after Jeffers allegedly attacked another man at the 14th Street station, using a hammer to hit the victim in the head.
The victim told NBC New York on Wednesday that Jeffers intentionally bumped into him after stalking another person on the platform, adding that he didn’t have time to argue before he struck.
Train passenger beaten with hammer in Manhattan
The victim, who asked not to be named, says she was with a friend she just had dinner with on Tuesday. They were on their way home and encountered the suspect near the turnstiles around 9 p.m.
“We saw the assailant come out of the turnstile,” the victim said. “When he was leaving he collided with another individual who was in front of us.”
Words were exchanged between those two, according to the victim. The suspect then walked towards the victim and allegedly bumped into him intentionally, though he says she tried to move to the side to avoid contact.
“He turned around, trying to get in my face, in my face aggressively,” the victim said, adding that the stranger ended up stepping on her foot in the process.
What happened next was captured on video shot by the man’s friend. It shows the suspect yelling at the victim, something like, “Can’t you see me walking around here? Don’t you have eyes? Open your eyes!” the victim recalled.
Then the hammer came out. The victim received a blow to the left side of the head.
Despite an increased police presence, violent incidents continue to occur.
“I just saw him reach into a bag, pull something out, and I saw it,” he said of the hammer. “It happened too fast to react, I tried to put my hand up because I was expecting something, but they hit me anyway.”
It happened right next to the subway booth, though it was unclear if an officer was inside at the time. Police initially said the victim suspected she had some sort of argument, but the victim says the two had no dispute. She says the suspect was the assailant.
It also says the suspect threatened the friend who recorded the video.
The victim, who says he has spent the time since the attack in a constant state of fear, described the sharp pain he felt. She said blood was running down the side of his head and that he was too shocked and dazed to do anything.
“I want him put away because he was clearly aggressive,” the victim said. “He was looking for trouble.”
The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital and is expected to be physically okay.
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“It is very sad what we are facing. We are trying to live our life the best we can and it is unfortunate that we have to face all these adversities along with all the struggles of life and it is an unnecessary conflict,” said the victim of the current state of crime in the subway. “It’s unfortunate that the city is the way it is.”
“It’s hard because we have to be afraid, just be constantly on the lookout, like being afraid of anyone who walks past you,” he added. “And you know, who knows what they have, you know. It’s not really a way of life.”
The incident comes nearly two weeks after New York City began its new “Subway Safety Plan,” a 17-page program to combat the massive rise in traffic crime in the still-recovering city. . But instead of going down, major traffic crimes were up 30% week over week in the early part of the release, with serious crimes nearly doubling.
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