Police are looking for a crazed straphanger who flung pieces of wood out from a moving R train in western Queens last week, striking four victims at three different stations (Photos: main image via Wikipedia and insert via NYPD)
Oct. 12, 2023 By Michael Dorgan
Police are looking for a crazed straphanger who flung pieces of wood out from a moving R train in western Queens last week, striking four victims at three different stations.
The bizarre series of attacks – which took place within a 12-minute period on Thursday, Oct. 5 — left two women in their 50s hospitalized, according to police.
The first incident took place at around 12:30 p.m. when a 59-year-old woman, who was waiting on a platform at the Grand Avenue station in Elmhurst, was hit in the throat by a slab of wood as the train passed by her. The victim suffered minor injuries and was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospitals/Elmhurst in stable condition with minor injuries.
About ten minutes later, the suspect again held a piece of wood out from the moving R train and then hurled the object at two unsuspecting males who were on a platform at the Elmhurst Avenue station. They were not injured.
Then, about two minutes later, the unhinged perpetrator tossed another piece of wood out from the train at the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Avenue station, striking a 56-year-old woman in the head. The suspect remained on the train and then fled to parts unknown while the woman was transported by EMS to NYC Health and Hospitals/Elmhurst where she received stitches for lacerations.
The suspect is described as a male with a medium complexion who had his hair styled in an afro. He was last seen wearing a black sweater, black pants, and an orange backpack.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA(74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/, or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.
