Police said the victims were older riders chosen at random during a Saturday morning rush at the 42nd Street-Grand Central station.
NEW YORK, N.Y. — A man armed with a machete slashed three people at the 42nd Street-Grand Central subway station on Saturday morning before New York police officers shot and killed him after he ignored repeated orders to drop the weapon, officials said.
The attack rattled one of the city’s busiest transit hubs and quickly raised fresh questions about safety in the subway system. Police identified the suspect as Anthony Griffin, 44, and said the stabbings appeared to be random. The three victims, an 84-year-old man, a 65-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman, were taken to hospitals with injuries that authorities said were not expected to be life-threatening. By late Saturday, investigators were still piecing together Griffin’s movements, the precise timeline of the attacks and the officer-involved shooting that brought the violence to an end.
Police said the violence began shortly before 10 a.m. after Griffin rode a No. 7 train from Queens into Grand Central. Commissioner Jessica Tisch said officers were alerted at about 9:40 a.m. to reports of slashings inside the station. Investigators said Griffin first attacked an 84-year-old man on the No. 7 platform, leaving him with major cuts to the head and face. He then moved upstairs toward the 4, 5 and 6 platform area, where police said he slashed a 65-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman. Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said the attacks appeared to be random. As officers closed in, Tisch said, Griffin behaved erratically and called himself “Lucifer.”
Two NYPD detectives working a transit detail were flagged down as they headed toward the scene, according to police. The officers reached the platform and confronted Griffin while other riders and witnesses were still trying to get out of the area. Tisch said the officers ordered him to drop the machete at least 20 times and repeatedly tried to de-escalate the encounter. She said Griffin did not comply and instead advanced toward the officers with the blade extended. One officer then fired twice, striking him. Griffin was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police said body-worn camera footage would be released under department policy for firearm discharges, and the department opened an internal investigation into the shooting.
The victims survived, but the injuries described by police showed how quickly the attack turned serious. Tisch said one victim suffered significant lacerations to the head and face, another had similar injuries along with an open skull fracture, and the woman had a shoulder wound. Officials did not release the victims’ names. Investigators also did not immediately explain what Griffin was doing before he boarded the train in Queens, whether he had been under mental distress, or whether he had targeted anyone before arriving at Grand Central. Tisch said Griffin had three prior unsealed arrests, though authorities did not immediately provide a full court history or say whether any past cases involved violence in the transit system.
The station itself added to the shock. Grand Central is one of the best-known rail and subway hubs in the country, moving commuters, tourists and weekend riders through stacked platforms, stairwells and narrow choke points beneath Midtown Manhattan. Witnesses described panic once the shooting started. Beau Lardner, a commuter who was entering the station, said bangs rang out loudly enough to hear through his headphones. He said he then saw a wall of people rushing toward the turnstiles and ran back up the stairs. “I know that platform like the back of my hand,” Lardner said, adding that he had never seen a crowd move so fast. The scene left parts of the terminal sealed off for hours as police photographed evidence and cleared the area.
The disruption spread beyond the crime scene. The police department warned riders to avoid the area during the investigation, and train service bypassed the station for part of the day before resuming later in the afternoon. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority worked to restore normal service while officers remained posted at entrances and along the affected platforms. Gov. Kathy Hochul said she was grateful to officers who acted quickly to stop the suspect, while Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the victims were in stable condition and thanked police for preventing more violence. Their statements came as city officials tried to calm riders while also making clear that the investigation into the attack and the shooting was still active.
Several key questions remained open Saturday night. Investigators had not said whether Griffin knew any of the victims, whether he had spoken to anyone else on the train before the attacks, or how long he moved through the station with the weapon before officers reached him. Police also had not said whether surveillance footage from the station or nearby platforms had fully mapped his path from the No. 7 train to the upper platform level. The Internal Affairs Bureau and other investigators were expected to review body-camera video, witness statements and physical evidence, including the machete recovered at the scene. Any public release of footage and a fuller briefing on the investigative findings are likely to shape the next phase of the case.
By Sunday, the station had reopened and the immediate violence had ended, but the case remained active as police reviewed video, interviewed witnesses and prepared to release more details about the shooting and Griffin’s background.
Author note: Last updated April 12, 2026.