A New York man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a homophobic slashing incident on a Manhattan subway train last week.
Police said Milton Hamlin, 46, approached a 27-year-old man Friday night and made anti-LGBTQ comments before slicing him with a box cutter. The victim was taken to a local hospital while Hamlin remained on the train.
On Saturday, the New York City Police Department released a photo of the suspect clad in a large gray puffer jacket and black hat, asking for the public’s assistance in identifying him. The NYPD then confirmed to NBC News on Wednesday that Hamlin, a resident of the Bronx, had been arrested and charged with assault, assault as a hate crime, menacing and menacing as a hate crime.
Friday’s subway slashing is the latest in a string of violent incidents occurring aboard New York City subways. The same day, a 61-year-old man was stabbed while riding a train in the Bronx, and the day before, a train conductor was slashed across the neck as his train car pulled into a station in Brooklyn, according to NBC New York.
The high-profile crimes in the subway system prompted New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday to send National Guard members to the underground network to help combat the issue.
“No one heading to their job or to visit family or go to a doctor appointment should worry that the person sitting next to them possesses a deadly weapon,” she told reporters.
