By Nina Mandell
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Police released a video of a knife-wielding suspect wanted for three violent robberies on subways and subway platforms over the past six weeks.
The man, who was caught on camera leaving a subway turnstile, displayed a knife and took his victims' purses in each of the three robberies, police said.
The first two victims were unharmed during the robberies, but on September 12, things turned violent when the attacker stabbed a waitress heading home from her shift in the left torso after she refused to relinquish her purse.
That incident, which happened around 2:30 a.m. at the #2 train station at 96th Street and Broadway, left the 27-year-old victim hospitalized — and traumatized by the lack of help from bystanders.
"I said, 'I just got stabbed! Call 911! Does anyone know what I should do?' They just stared at me," the woman told the Daily News after the attack.
On August 7, police said the suspect snatched a 37-year-old woman's purse as she exited the "A" train station at 127th Street and St. Nicholas Ave. around 7:30 p.m. He struck again inside the "A" train in Inwood on August 27th, when he brandished a knife and took a 27-year-old woman's purse around 3:30 a.m. as the train left the Dyckman Street station.
The suspect is described as a black male believed to be in his late 20s, weighing 175 pounds and standing 6 feet tall. He was last seen wearing blue jean shorts, a white t-shirt and black sneakers, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to contact CrimeStoppers at 800-577-TIPS(8477) or text TIP5477 to "CRIMES."
