Despite arrest, subway stabbings lead to renewed fear of crime
Adams: Incidents are often the fault of mentally ill
New Yorkers were demanding answers after a 21-year-old homeless man from a Boerum Hill shelter was arrested in a series of attacks on subway trains, two of them fatal.
Rigoberto Lopez was taken into custody Saturday night and was formally arrested Sunday. After a psychiatric evaluation, he was charged with murder and attempted murder, police said. He later confessed to the weekend slashing spree, according to published reports.
One of the victims was discovered dead on a train at the Mott Avenue station in Far Rockaway late Friday with several stab wounds to his neck and torso, police said. Two hours later, a 44-year-old woman was found stabbed to death in a subway car at the 207th Street station in Upper Manhattan. Two nonfatal attacks — one involving a 67-year-old man and the other involving a 43-year-old man — also occurred in Upper Manhattan.