Slashing suspect shot by police after injuring 3 at Grand Central subway station in New York

NEW YORK — Police shot and killed a knife-wielding man on a subway platform at Grand Central Station in New York City on Saturday after he attacked and injured at least three people, according to the NYPD.

The suspect, identified by police as 44-year-old Anthony Griffen, boarded the 7 train Saturday morning at the Vernon Boulevard station in Queens and arrived a short time later at Grand Central, where he stabbed an elderly man on the train platform before he moved to the 4/5/6 platform and slashed two more victims, police said at a press conference Saturday.

Officers were called to the scene shortly after 9:30 a.m. Two NYPD detectives working an overtime transit detail encountered one of the victims walking up the steps as they responded, according to police.

During the encounter, Griffen was acting erratically and stating that he was “Lucifer,” Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said Saturday.

Those detectives ordered Griffen to drop the large knife he was carrying some 20 times before he advanced toward them with the blade extended and one of the detectives shot him twice, Tisch said.

Officers performed CPR on the suspect at the scene before he was transported to Bellevue Hospital and pronounced dead.

Police say the three victims, ages 65, 70 and 84, were stabbed prior to the officers’ arrival. They were transported to local hospitals. The 65-year-old man suffered an open skull fracture, a severe head injury putting the brain at high risk of injury or infection.

It appears the three victims did not know each other and had chance encounters with the suspect, who was set on causing severe harm to people who were simply taking the train.

Two police officers were also taken to the hospital following the incident. Authorities have since recovered the weapon used by the suspect at the scene.

Griffen has three priors in New York City, according to the commissioner.

The slashing wounds are severe but the victims are stable in the hospital, according to police.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he had been briefed on the incident.

“I’m grateful to the NYPD for their quick response and for preventing additional violence. The three victims were taken to the hospital and are thankfully in stable condition. The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation and will release body-worn camera footage, as it does in all incidents involving the discharge of an officer’s firearm,” Mamdani said in a statement.

There is no connection to terrorism, police said.