By Gabriela Resto-Montero
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — A man who allegedly stabbed and killed a passenger in front of at least 20 witnesses on the D train Saturday was confrontational from the moment he stepped on the subway at Rockefeller Center, police said.
Gerardo Sanchez, 37, of the Bronx, was being held without bail Monday for allegedly killing Dwight Johnson, 36, who most recently lived in Brooklyn, according to police.
Witnesses said Sanchez stabbed Johnson twice after arguing over a subway seat on the northbound D train. The wounds to Johnson's face and neck severed his cartoid artery, killing him instantly, according to police.
Eyewitnesses said Sanchez was disoriented from the moment he stepped onto the train shortly after 2 a.m., the New York Post reported.
Sanchez demanded Johnson make room for him on the three-seat bench he was occupying, witnesses told the paper.
Sanchez allegedly became agitated when Johnson pointed to other empty seats and replied, "No, I want this seat." Witnesses said Johnson made room for Sanchez who then pulled out a knife and stabbed him.
After the stabbing, Sanchez allegedly pried open the subway doors and dropped the knife on the tracks, the Post reported.
Police asked the conductor to keep the subway doors closed when the train pulled into the 7th Avenue and 53rd Street stop to keep Sanchez from running away.
The move drew criticism from frightened passengers who had to stay in the car with Sanchez, according to the Daily News.
"[They] gambled with a lot of lives," Richard Kaye, 45, of Morrisania told the News. "God forbid he had stabbed four more people."
