Man Sprayed Mace On A Train During Thursday Morning Commute: NYPD

BROOKLYN HEIGHTS, NY — A man sprayed pepper spray on an A train during the Thursday's morning rush hour, injuring two passengers and snarling service for several hours, officials said.

The suspect was riding the Manhattan-bound A train at about 8:10 a.m. when he sprayed a can of pepper spray near the High Street station, police said. Two passengers came in contact with the substance, but they refused medical attention on the scene, the NYPD said.

Police arrested the man and charges were pending for the assault. Officials said there were originally reports that the suspect had a knife, but none was found when he was arrested.

The incident snarled A and C service during the morning rush hour and took about an hour-and-a-half to return back to normal, the MTA said. The agency rerouted all A and C subways to the F line then made some F trains run along the G line to ease overcrowding.

"We apologize for the extensive delays and in some cases, the lack of announcements," the MTA wrote on Twitter nearly two hours after the incident. "We're working on improving our process and speaker infrastructure to keep you better informed."

Some riders took to Twitter to complain about delays, with one reporting she was stuck in the tunnel between stations for nearly 35 minutes without any announcements.

"This packed train of 100s of people trying to get to work had no idea what was going on," Anjie Zheng wrote on Twitter.

Image: Maria Cormack-Pitts/Patch