Another Brooklyn Subway Slasher Caught on 3 Train

BED-STUY, BROOKLYN — Crown Heights resident Stephen Brathwaite, 37, was arrested Monday for allegedly committing the latest in a freaky spree of wintertime slashings across the New York City subway system.

According to the NYPD, the attack began when Brathwaite poured hot coffee down a 30-year-old man’s back Monday around 1 p.m., as the two waited for the northbound 3 Train at the Pennsylvania Avenue station in East New York.

Then, once both men had boarded the train, an NYPD spokesman told Patch that Brathwaite ”pulled out a knife from his pocket and cut the victim on the chin, causing a laceration on his face.”

Police said they managed to catch Brathwaite as he exited the subway system at the Utica Avenue station in Bed-Stuy.

And the folding knife he allegedly used to attack his victim was reportedly recovered on the train when it pulled into the Nevins Street station in Fort Greene.

Brathwaite has since been charged with felony assault, misdemeanor menacing and misdemeanor criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.

At least six subway slashings were reported in the city in January alone, according to the New York Daily News.

The NYPD has acknowledged a nearly 15% jump in knifings this year compared to the same period in 2015. But NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton is downplaying the spree, reportedly saying on AM radio Monday: “This is New York and occasionally the media and police get focused on a series of incidents, and that’s what happened here.”

Previously on Patch:

• Brooklyn Subway Slasher Turns Himself Over to Police
• Woman on Brooklyn A Train: ‘I‘m Going To Cut You’
• Man Slashes Brooklyn A Train Rider, Disappears Into Subway System: Reports
• 2 Men Slashed Aboard Brooklyn C Train: Police