Subway Stabber Escaped Through Station Without Cameras

Cyclosity's Flickr

Investigators have few leads in their search for a man who fatally stabbed two men and injured another during a fight on the No. 2 train early Sunday morning. Yesterday cops continued canvassing the Greenwich Village area, handing out fliers and looking for witnesses. But they have no description of the attacker, who is only described as Hispanic. Part of the challenge facing investigators is that the Christopher Street station, where the man is believed to have fled the subway, has no surveillance cameras.

There are 4,313 security cameras throughout the system, but more than 2,000 of them are inoperable. Half of those were installed by Lockheed Martin, which won a $212 million contract with the MTA back in 2005 to install 1,000 video cameras and 3,000 motion sensors, as well as enable cellphone service in 277 underground stations. But the work is stalled because the company and the MTA are suing each other; Lockheed blames the MTA for not giving them enough access to the system, while the MTA blames Lockheed for faulty technology.

Only 69 stations out of 468 in the system have the most common type of subway security camera, which monitors turnstiles. But 910 of those are useless due to heat, water or wiring problems. Some members of the Transport Workers Union call the subway system "blind," which is a troubling state of affairs, especially with subway bombings in Moscow in the news. Sunday's stabbing "definitely should have been recorded on surveillance camera," Norman I. Seabrook, chairman of the transportation authority’s safety and security committee, tells the Times.

It's being reported today that the bag of trash that enraged the killer on Sunday contained beer bottles. Someone in the group of friends accompanying the victims had attempted to throw the bottles out onto the subway platform on 14th Street, before the doors closed. Instead, the bottles hit the assailant in the head, WCBS reports. By the time the train reached Christopher Street, Darnell Morel of Newark and his friend Ricardo Williams of Brooklyn were dying from stab wounds inflicted by a kitchen knife. Williams' fiancee (they were to be married in a few weeks), told the Daily News, "He stuck up for his friends. He stuck up for me. He wasn't a fighter. He is usually the peacekeeper. He tries to be the voice of reason."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By John Del Signore in News on March 30, 2010 9:30 AM

Comments [rss]

Cannibal

its the 'don't ask don't tell' station...

maryba

Another big issue here is that this is one of the stations that lost an agent last year when the MTA made those cuts that closed a bunch of booths. Having an agent there may not have done anything, but that could have been a witness. When they cut more this year, well, look at all these stations where you can now literally get away with murder.

theevilone

And it's starting to make more sense. Getting hit in the head with a beer bottle is going to piss a guy off. I'm still guessing the bottle throwing was not accidental. I see it more likely that the vics were drunk and obnoxious, stabber & friends tell them to shut up, drunks throw the bottles, drunks get stabbed.

The guys who got knifed were in a large group of friends and no one can provide a description? Weird.

ed_Extinct

if this station is not one of the biggest oversights of the MTA... This is the Christopher Street West 4th Street station. Wednesday to Sunday from 4PM to 5AM the gamies (or gay homies) run rampant in this area. The level of crime in this area after sundown is astronomical.

Most of this traffic comes from the Path on Christopher, but not having camera's in the area is stupid.

seven

C'mon MTA, Jesus, get it the fuck together! Stuff like this makes me so mad. They make service cuts, threaten to raise fares, and punish us for the completely idiotic way they spend money. Where is the oversight? Where is the accountability?

whitecastlerock

Exactly! they do not give a shit about the ridership. None whatsoever. It has been this way for as long as I have been riding the trains-which is well over 30 years now.

ohgoodgolly

Same - I rode the same train to school that I now ride to work. The only difference is that now they're dirtier and less reliable. Every morning I look up at the brand new, unused, bubble wrapped digital board that should be telling me when the next train is supposed to arrive and wonder how many more years it's going to be hanging there before it's actually turned on. Maybe my grandkids will get to enjoy it in fifty years?

whitecastlerock

Right! The bubble wrapped displays-I have seen them on platforms for years. Soon they won't need these displays because the trains won't be running. It's a disgrace.

Cranky Old Man

Like I said, start looking into Kevlar based outerwear. No ones gonna step and and try and save your ass when Cracky starts slashing at you with a butcher knife. With some Kevlar around your vital organs, you'll at least have a fighting chance. And start taking some self defense courses - especially ones that teach you how to deal with real life situations like this. Have a friend come at you with a realistic looking rubber knife and figure out what you can do. Get off the stupid treadmill at the gym and go and find the heavy bag. Put something into your purse or shoulder bag that can stop a knife and then practice using your handbag as a shield.

DanielJ

Hell if I got smacked in the face by a bag full of beer bottles tossed by a bunch of rowdy laughing hooligans at 3 AM I wouldn't be a happy camper either.

streber

Look... they haven't been able to catch the guy who placed a pipe bomb in Times Square.

Times Square has many many cameras.

You're on your own people. Cops are just here to extort money from you.

Splicer

No description other than Hispanic. OK, let's try this. He apparently got on at Houston & Varick where the incident of this person allegedly getting hit in the face with a some garbage happened. The subway entrance going Uptown is right where the club S.O.B.'s is and it might be assumed that he might have been at this particular club on that night. I'm sure S.O.B.'s does have surveillance video cameras -- might they have a shot of this person that the friends of the victims or the surviving victim might be able to look at? It's grasping at straws but it seems logical.

Gwinny

Someone in the group of friends accompanying the victims had attempted to throw the bottles out onto the subway platform on 14th Street, before the doors closed. Instead, the bottles hit the assailant in the head, WCBS reports. By the time the train reached Christopher Street...

It was a southbound train, not a northbound... hence, no S.O.B.'s

justthinkin

I thought they said that the perp exited at the Houston St station (which yesterday was covered in NYPD fliers seeking information from the public). If that's the case, then he would have exited on the west side of Varick/Houston where the Federal building is and that building is COVERED in cameras.

Gwinny

oohhh, got it. yes, good point

RoboticInsides

'But they have no description of the attacker, who is only described as Hispanic.'

No wonder the cops were eyeing me with more suspicion than usual. At least I get a lot of personal space during rush hours... people are afraid I'ma stab them.

fixer

I do love reading the Times's takedown follow-ups to crime stories where some municipal entity get shat upon, as in today's article regarding the sorry state of cameras in the subways. This is not the best reaction for me to have, but the MTA fosters it by plastering their cars with "Subtalk" blame-game warnings to passengers (or in their dreary parlance, "customers") to lift up your feet when entering cars, not to run for trains, etc. (by the way, fuck you to all that) while also shlocking $40 rainboots and $25 Christmas ornaments (by the way, why would I want any of your fucking shitty merch?). People run for trains and hold doors because they have no fucking clue when the next train is coming. They also do these things because there is zero consistent method to conductors' practices regarding how long the doors stay open at a station. The passengers' collective attitude then becomes if you can be inconsistent, I may as well be too. This shit happens here only. So after all that, you bet I'm going to lick my chops reading about what fuck-ups they are when it comes to station surveillance. More cameras, less G-train keychains.

theevilone

I hate people who hold doors and run for trains, personally. There will be another one. Really? The world will end if you have to wait 10 minutes? Get a grip.

whitecastlerock

In a city that is incredibly fast paced one would hope they can get a train every ten minutes. It is not always the case. The C train uptown around lunchtime is a solid 20 minutes between trains. So yes someone's world could end if they have to be somewhere and cannot budget an hour to go 2 miles via subway. Many times trains will sit in the station waiting for a connecting express or local train. There are those times where it seems the conductors can't wait to shut the doors in your face while you make the mad dash for a connecting train. It's frustrating when there is such inconsistency in service-resulting in door holding and delays...

VorneliusCanderbilt

Nah, people running for trains aren't the ones to hate... It's those fools who search for their MetroCard RIGHT IN FRONT of the turnstile and block traffic... THOSE are the people to hate!