[Montage via @Pix11]
A knife-wielding man attacked an M15 last around 8 on Second Avenue between 13th Street and 14th Street, according to witnesses and multiple published reports.
Here's WABC-TV with some narrative:
The seemingly emotionally disturbed man stopped traffic and climbed onto the MTA bus, then began stabbing the front of the bus with some kind of object.
Eventually he was stopped and taken down by the bus driver and some Good Samaritans until police arrived.
"I opened up the doors and told him listen, you've got to get off the bus or get off the bumper," said the driver, Louis Huertas. "Sure enough he pulls a knife out on me and starts coming after me. After he broke the windshield wiper somebody yelled, 'yo he put the knife away'. When I asked were they sure, they said yeah he put the knife in his front left pocket. That's when I went ahead and grabbed him and swung him and threw him on the floor."
And via Twitter...
Another crazy day in NYC #unionsquare #mtaselectbus #nyc pic.twitter.com/LElZU3A4fJ
— katelyn (@vxkatelyn) June 7, 2019
Charges are pending against the bus assailant, per WABC.
You can find other reports at CBS 2 and PIX 11.
15 comments:
60's flashback. "Fun City"
Imagine if this man could have bought an assault weapon?
As scary as this was nobody in their right mind, mental illness or under the influence of some really bad drugs, would do something like this. How do the police charge someone in this state when he should be getting medical care.
At least he wasn't trying to hurt people. I myself have gotten extremely angry at MTA vehicles, so I am going to end my comment right here.
This has been a very active corner lately, there was a car accident on the same corner the day before.
Which hospital was the bus taken to?
I saw this man trying to destroy a locked bicycle near Cooper Union's Foundation Building a few nights ago. The bike was loosely chained to a small tree guard fence and he kept twisting and throwing the bicycle in the air and growling and screaming and cursing. He was like a rabid dog. His one buddy was telling him to cool it as he walked away from him. The others near him were nodding off.
In the worlds of the immortal Whitney Houston, “Crack is wack.”
@neolani: The police charge him easily!! We're just lucky he didn't hurt anyone.
Would you say he shouldn't be charged if he threatened or stabbed a human being, just b/c he's in need of "medical care"? Does that let him off the hook entirely? What level of chaos are you willing to tolerate, and what level of danger?
Yeah, he should be getting "medical care" - do you think he hasn't had the chance? Do you think he's maybe on drugs? Do you think maybe his behavior is the result of his own choices? Does anyone have any personal responsibility any more for their choices?
And in the meantime, we, the public, are at the mercy of the worst behavior of any/every mentally ill person who's on the streets.
I've seen that dude walk around the Noho/Soho area multiple times.
Saw him yesterday on Broome and he was - I kid you not - drawing hearts with colored chalk on the sidewalk. Lol.
Thank you 12:22PM. The police will charge him because, we - the people, have determined that his actions are an offense to the public. If you don't like it, become part of the process to change the laws.
I should clarify that in my post above by "this man" I meant the bus attacker in the video
The other weird thing I wanted to say after seeing the video, and reading that he may have had a knife, is that last week at the end of May there were a lot of folks moving out of the EV and the streets were cluttered with discarded furniture and household items. I was walking down my block and I saw among a pile of junk a wooden knife block with six large chef's knives still in it. So brilliant and thoughtful of a former resident to leave them behind for us.
I believe the police have to charge someone like this to justify taking them into custody. Once in custody that person must been seen by a doctor(s) to evaluate their mental state, if drugs are the purpose, mental illness etc... The drugs you mentioned may not necessarily be illegal drugs but prescribed drugs for his mental illness, a police officer without any history of the person will not know this. Of course this person had to subdued before they could harm anyone including themselves.
"Do you think maybe his behavior is the result of his own choices?"
Not really. That's...how severe mental illness works. Nobody ever told you?
I would have attacked the 23rd Street bus. Or the Avenue A. If they ever showed up.
@June 8th @12:10am: I am more familiar with severe mental illness than I ever would wish anyone to be - I have seen it take the life of someone I dearly loved. YES, there is personal responsibility involved! IF this man who attacked the bus is severely mentally ill and undiagnosed/untreated, he should be kept safe in a hospital or other facility so that he does not endanger others.
BUT the "personal responsibility" part is this: It's entirely possible that the man who attacked the bus has been diagnosed and treated, but he may choose not to take his medication. And/or he may be taking street drugs. If that is the case, he's not taking any personal responsibility for his situation (or he's not capable of taking that responsibility). At that point, IMO, he needs to be kept in a safe location/facility so that he does not endanger others.
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