Crime & Safety
Accused LIC Subway Stabber Also Attacked Bakery With Nailed Board: DA
Prosecutors released new details on the multi-day spree of random attacks in Western Queens, allegedly committed by one man.

LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS — Authorities have released new details about the multi-day spree of random attacks allegedly committed by one man in Western Queens, ranging from two stabbings on subway platforms to an assault at a Jackson Heights bakery.
Donny Ubiera, 32, of Bayside, appeared in court Monday on charges of attempted murder, assault and other crimes in connection with the string of attacks between Wednesday and Saturday of last week, the Queens District Attorney's office announced.
According to prosecutors, Ubiera began the rampage at a bakery on Roosevelt Avenue near Warren Street, where Ubiera followed a man inside at around 10:45 a.m. Wednesday.
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Brandishing a rock in one hand and a board with a nail protruding from it in another, Ubiera yelled at the man to "Come outside and fight me," prosecutors allege. When the man tried to take cover by running behind the bakery counter, Ubiera reached over and smacked him in the head with the nail-embedded board, authorities say.
The man was hospitalized for his injuries.
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Two days later, around 8:40 a.m. Friday, Ubiera approached a man sitting on a bench and waiting for a train at the Queensboro Plaza subway station in Long Island City, authorities said. (Prosecutors identified the station as "Queens Plaza" — a possible error, since multiple outlets described the location as nearby Queensboro.)
The man was looking at his phone when he noticed Ubiera "hovering over him," and heard an object fall to the floor, the D.A.'s office said. The man then noticed the knife, which Ubiera picked up, mumbled something inaudible, and began stabbing and slashing the victim, authorities said.
"The victim raised his hands to protect himself, but Ubiera did not relent," prosecutors said in a news release. "The victim sustained numerous cuts and slash wounds to his hands, fingers and face."
The man was ultimately hospitalized and received 36 stitches to seal his wounds, prosecutors said. Ubiera, meanwhile, fled the scene — but was spotted by two police officers throwing two cellphones, including one that belonged to the stabbing victim, according to authorities.
Finally, the following morning, Ubiera walked up to a group of four or five people waiting for a train at the 74th Street-Roosevelt Avenue station in Jackson Heights.
Without any provocation, he stabbed a man from behind with an unspecified object, forcing him to undergo two life-saving surgeries to repair the damage, prosecutors said.
Ubiera fled that scene as well, only to be apprehended on Sunday when police officers saw him on the Utopia Parkway in Whitestone and recognized him from surveillance footage, authorities said.
"The subway system provides a crucial lifeline to millions of New Yorkers and the safety of our riders is paramount," Queens D.A. Melinda Katz said in a statement.
"As alleged, the defendant began his three days of terror by violently attacking a man inside a bakery, before going on a rampage inside the transit system and repeatedly stabbing two straphangers without provocation over the course of two days.
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