A Bronx man who is accused of attacking two elderly men at a Queens subway was indicted last week on attempted murder and faces up to 25 years in prison.
The defendant, Patrick Chambers, 46, of Benedict Avenue in the Bronx, allegedly stabbed two elderly men on a subway train in July in unprovoked attacks.
“The defendant is accused of attacking two defenseless men, both in their 70s, on a subway car,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said. “One of the victims was stabbed as he tried to help his fellow passenger. There is no justification for this kind of senseless violence. We should always be safe traveling on our subways. Thankfully, the victims survived.”
According to the case files, Chambers was aboard a 7 train on July 5 around 7:30 a.m. The train stopped at 52nd Street and Roosevelt Avenue, where the suspect was observed holding a knife in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other. Chambers then, unprovoked, allegedly started yelling at a 71-year-old man who was sitting across from him.
He then approached the elderly man and allegedly stabbed him. The victim fell to the floor and Chambers reportedly continued to assault the man by hitting him repeatedly. Another 73-year-old man stepped in to try and stop the attack, but Chambers allegedly stabbed him, slashing the man’s chest and wrist.
The suspect fled the train and an eyewitness engaged him in conversation a short distance away until police arrived to arrest him.
Both of the men were taken to a local hospital and treated for their injuries. The 71-year-old man had large lacerations to his abdomen and chest. He reportedly lost two liters of blood and underwent emergency surgery.
DA Katz said that police allegedly procured a bloodstained knife from Chamber’s pocket. Reports indicated that they also found a pair of scissors laying in a pile of blood in the subway car.
On Dec. 4, Chambers was charged with attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first degree, assault in the second degree of an elderly person, assault in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree.
He is due back in court on March 2, 2021.
