Eight Teens Arrested for Crime Spree in Subways, Report Says

Several crimes were reported on the F train this week

Daniel Barry / Getty Images

By Ben Fractenberg

DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

MANHATTAN — Eight teens were arrested Tuesday after a crime spree through the subway system, the New York Post reported.

The daytime spree included a stabbing and four cell phone robberies on the B and F trains in Midtown, the paper said.

The violence peaked Tuesday when two gangs confronted each other in Strawberry Fields in Central Park. One gang fled while the other chased them into the West 72nd Street and Central Park West subway station.

Oswaldo Leonal, 21, was stabbed in the back, according to the Post. The attackers then fled.

Brooklyn residents Jeramy Gill, 19, and Antonio Singh, 18, were arrested and charged with gang assault, the Post said. Ruth Selamy, 17, was also apprehended and was also being charged with the same crime. A 15-year-old girl was also arrested.

Another group of teens were arrested Brooklyn after assaulting two subway riders, the Post said. Police believed two other attacks could be linked to the same group, the Post reported.

Crime rates have jumped dramatically this year, with murder in Manhattan up 110 percent over last year as of April 19, going from 10 in 2009 to 21 over the same period this year, police data showed.

Citywide all major crime categories were up compared to the same period in 2009.

A police spokesman, though, said subway crime is "way down" over the long term, the Post said.