NJ Commuter Recovering After Stabbing Attack At NYC Bus Terminal

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — A New Jersey commuter is recovering after being stabbed several times on Monday outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, according to officials and reports.

Authorities said they have a suspect in custody.

Boonton resident Daniel Salvatore was reading a book outside the Manhattan terminal when a stranger approached him and slashed him eight times in the neck and arm, according to a New York Post report.

Salvatore said he needed 46 stitches, and spent his 66th birthday Tuesday in the hospital.

The attack took place around 5:45 a.m. Monday on the mezzanine level and officers took the other man into custody after witnessing the stabbing, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesperson said.

Port Authority Police confirmed they arrested Michael McCloskey, a 42-year-old California resident, in connection with the attack. Charges pending against McCloskey include attempted murder, first-degree assault, and possession of a weapon, authorities said.

"While incidents like the one that occurred Monday at the Midtown Bus Terminal are rare, we have increased both our police and civilian security staffing at the facility," the agency said in a statement.

Salvatore, a father of three adult children, told the Post was taking his normal daily commute to his job as a carpenter when the other man attacked him without a word.

"I was just sitting there reading and someone came up from my blind side," he said to the NY Post.

He said he tried to get away from the assailant, who grabbed his sweatshirt and kept stabbing him. Salvatore eventually said he broke away and went into a nearby Dunkin' for help, where customers tried to help stem the flow of blood before first responders arrived.