Police charged a 25-year-old Bronx man after a 59-year-old rider was stabbed to death, and the subway system’s homicide total rose to six this year.
On Wednesday evening at 5:30 p.m., 25-year-old Jyrell Thomas stabbed 59-year-old Mesias Lojano multiple times aboard a northbound J train at the Woodhaven Boulevard subway station in Queens.
A verbal dispute between the men sparked the fatal attack, according to police, who described Thomas as emotionally disturbed and allegedly carrying a kitchen knife.
Witness David Benenson helped bystanders pursue the suspect, who climbed onto a nearby roof before police apprehended him. Thomas was charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.
Lojano, a married father of six who worked in Brooklyn, was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries.
This incident marks the sixth subway homicide this year, occurring amid a 7% increase in transit assaults reported by the NYPD. One commuter noted, "That's nothing new on the train.