NEW YORK — A 68-year-old man was punched in the face by a stranger while riding the train in Tribeca, leaving him in critical condition, police said Sunday.
The victim was minding his business riding an uptown No. 1 train when the assailant, sporting a fedora, black leather jacket, pink hoodie and an elaborate gold necklace, boarded the train at the Franklin Street stop about 2:40 p.m. Friday, cops said.
Without warning, the 6-foot-2 straphanger walloped the victim in the face.
Medics rushed the victim to New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan, where he was in critical but stable condition, police said.
The assailant fled the train but not before surveillance cameras captured him walking through the station looking at his cellphone. Police released images of the suspect Sunday and asked the public's help identifying him and tracking him down.
The suspect is believed to be about 30.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.
The attack comes as violence has picked up in the underground, despite a roughly 75% drop in ridership since the pandemic.
On Friday, a man slashed a victim in the face on a Bronx train after getting in an argument. The assailant pulled out a box cutter as the train pulled into the Cypress Avenue station around 9:30 p.m. and sliced him above the lip, cops said.
Earlier Friday, a 37-year-old man was stabbed in the arm and the leg in an unprovoked attack onboard a Brooklyn No. 4 train rumbling into the Nevins Street station around 12:10 a.m., cops said.
About 500 additional police officers were deployed in February into the transit system to deal with the alarming amount of attacks.
