A man armed with a knife attacked three people at Grand Central Station, New York’s main subway branch. The suspect, identified as 44-year-old Antony Griffin, was killed by police officers. Three people were attacked, but were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The information was released by the New York Police Commissioner, Jessica Tisch, who defended and praised the actions of the police officers. Tisch stated that it was a random attack, not linked to any group or cause.
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According to the flight attendant, Griffin caught a train in the Queens neighborhood, a more remote area, at around 9:30 am. Shortly after 9:40 a.m., a civilian warned two police officers at Grand Central Station that a man was attacking people with a knife on the subway platform.
The police went to the scene. On the way, they found one of the victims fleeing down the stairs. When they arrived at the platform, they found Griffin and discovered that it was a machete (a type of machete). The police tried to calm him down, but he was shouting: “I am Lucifer”. At one point, he advanced on the police, who shot him twice and provided first aid. Griffin was taken to the hospital, where he died.
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The three victims are hospitalized but are not at risk. All had injuries to the head and shoulders. One of the victims, according to the commissioner, was practically scalped. They are two men, one aged 84 and the other aged 65. The third is a 70-year-old woman.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (Democrat) called the episode a “senseless act of violence” and said she was grateful to the police, who quickly stopped the attack. New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani also thanked the police for their quick response, which prevented further damage. The mayor stated that the police cameras recorded the incident.
Controversies about police officers on the subway
Mamdani, who took office as mayor of New York in 2026, had been criticized for his security policy, which deployed more police officers to the city’s transportation system. In a newspaper series New York Times in which citizens send questions to the mayor, Mamdani was heavily criticized for the decision, because the streets would be less safe with police officers “standing on the platforms”, as one of those interviewed by the newspaper said.
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According to the police commissioner, 175 police officers were transferred to work in the subway system this morning.
