A machete-wielding man who was yelling “Lucifer” was shot and killed by police after a Saturday morning attack at New York’s Grand Central Station that wounded three people, the NYPD said.
The man was acting “erratically” just before 10 a.m. at the busy Manhattan subway stop before he pulled out the large knife and attacked, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.
Anthony Griffin, a 44-year-old with three prior arrests, had boarded a 7 train in Queens that brought him to the Grand Central platform, Tisch said. Once off the train, he slashed a 84-year-old man, who was left with significant lacerations to his head and face.
Anthony Griffin, 44, the man identified by the NYPD as the attacker in the Grand Central Station slashings on Saturday. Police shot and killed Griffin after they say he refused to comply with at least 20 orders to drop his machete. (Photo obtained by NBC New York)
The suspect then went upstairs to the 4/5/6 train platform, where he slashed two more victims, a 65-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman, police said. All three victims were transported to nearby hospitals and were expected to survive.
The two responding officers had been flagged down by a witness to the attack, according to the commissioner. Both officers ran to the 4/5/6 platform, where they confronted the armed man and made multiple commands to drop the knife.
Tisch said the man ignored the officers’ commands and advanced with the machete, prompting one officer to fire at the man. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital but did not survive his injuries.
“I’m grateful to the NYPD for their quick response and for preventing additional violence. The three victims were taken to the hospital and are thankfully in stable condition,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a social media post.
“The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation and will release body-worn camera footage, as it does in all incidents involving the discharge of an officer’s firearm.”
The NYPD put out a bulletin asking people to avoid the area due to the ongoing investigation.
The MTA told commuters that the 4/5/6 subway lines would skip the Grand Central-42 Street stop in both directions while the NYPD conducts their investigation.
The 5 train was running with delays in both directions. For further information, visit the MTA website.
