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Tourist from Spain slashed in random attack inside Queens Plaza subway station in LIC: NYPD

Cops are looking for this suspect, who allegedly slashed a tourist from Spain during a random attack Thursday morning inside the Queens Plaza subway station in LIC. Photo courtesy of the NYPD

Feb. 16, 2024 By Bill Parry

A tourist from Spain was slashed in his neck in an unprovoked attack inside the Queens Plaza subway station in Long Island City Thursday morning.

Police from the 108th Precinct in Long Island City and Transit District 20 are looking for a knife-wielding suspect who allegedly assaulted the 29-year-old tourist as he was standing on the mezzanine level on the E, M and R line at around 10:25 a.m. The stranger approached him from behind and proceeded to pull out a knife and slash him across the left side of his neck before running out of the station in an unknown direction, police said.

EMS responded to the crime scene and rushed the victim to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation said the the victim was a visitor from Spain and not from Brazil, as a number of news outlets reported.

The NYPD released surveillance images of the suspect in the assault investigation as he entered the station and described him as a Black man with a medium complexion. He was last seen wearing a black vest over a gray hooded sweatshirt with a black face covering.

Photo courtesy of the NYPD

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 Crime Stoppers website at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.

Through Feb. 11, the 108th Precinct has reported 23 assaults so far in 2024, 1 fewer than the 24 reported at the same point last year, a decline of 4.2%, according to the most recent CompStat report.