BEDFORD-STUYVESANT — A man was apprehended afternoon after slashing two people with a box cutter on a Manhattan-bound C train Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
As the train approached the Ralph Avenue station around 3:15 p.m., the suspect, who was described as a man in his 30s wearing a blue denim outfit, pulled out a box cutter and slashed a straphanger on the forehead, a police source said.
The suspect then walked over to another car, where he slashed a second man, also on the forehead, a police source said.
When the train pulled into the station, the suspect ran off the train and out onto Ralph Avenue. He was later apprehended at Fulton Street and Rockaway Avenue, police said.
A woman who was on the train said it suddenly stopped in the tunnel east of the Ralph Avenue station. A few minutes later, the train conductor made an announcement over the P.A. system asking for medical assistance at the front of the train, a witness said.
"The dispatcher just said, we need a doctor or a nurse," said Kelly Patton, 42, who was traveling with her two sons aged six and eight.
After the train pulled into the station, passengers were ordered to get off as the train was being pulled out of service, Patton said.
Despite rumors going around that someone had been stabbed, Patton said she kept a level head so as to not alarm her two young children.
"I just stayed calm," Patton said. "I didn't want them to see too much."
The manager of a nearby barbershop saw one of the slashing victims as he emerged from the subway station, wearing bloodied jeans and clutching his forehead.
"He was crying," Michael Lopez, 35, said.
A few minutes later, the shaken man was lead into an ambulance by police officers, according to Lopez.
"I've never seen that before," Lopez said.
The two victims were taken to Brookdale Hospital, and both are expected to survive, according to fire officials.
The stabbing caused temporary service changes on the C line. After bypassing the Ralph Avenue station for several hours while police investigated, C train traffic resumed on Tuesday evening with residual delays, according to the MTA.
