While it's true that larger cities often face higher crime rates, there seems to be an alarming absence of empathy and compassion among the people in NYC, contributing to the perceived coldness of the city.
This latest incident from New York serves as yet another illustration of this issue. Within a matter of minutes, three separate slashing incidents occurred on a New York City subway. Shockingly, one of the victims managed to capture the aftermath on video, showing her bleeding profusely from a leg wound while desperately pleading for help from fellow passengers. However, those present remained indifferent, offering no assistance or even pursuing the attacker.
From The New York Post:
“Pull the emergency brake! Pull the emergency brake!” the 28-year-old victim can be heard sobbing. “Yo! Yo!”
The ailing straphanger actually hobbled after her attacker through the train car while shooting video of him on her phone — footage that cops said they used to help nail him.
The creep can be seen strolling off into the next car — as commuters stare at his distraught victim.
At one point, the victim, whose name is being withheld by The Post, pans down to show her sandal caked in blood.
“Yo! Somebody call 911! Somebody call 911!” she screams.
The victim was attacked around 4:30 p.m. Sunday on a southbound No. 4 train as it neared the Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall station — in what was one of three unprovoked slashing attacks in fewer than 20 minutes.
“I was on the train, texting my boyfriend,” the victim told ABC7-News.
“Some random guy walked past me and sliced me — I don’t know what he used — and nonchalantly walked away. My body was in shock. I didn’t feel the pain right away.
“My first instinct was to get a video of him, and then [I] looked down and saw the blood coming down.”
Other video shows someone wearing white shoes standing in front of the wounded woman and then appearing to walk past her — although it’s not clear if it is her attacker.
Police on Tuesday busted alleged serial slasher Kemal Rideout, 28, and charged him with three counts of felony assault on three different women Sunday, including the victim who shot the video after she was slashed.
This situation is extremely concerning, and although it's a positive development that they apprehended the individual accountable for these slashings, it's disheartening to realize that another individual may step in to continue these acts.
It's clear that significant changes are required in New York to address this ongoing cycle of violence. Without such changes, it's unlikely that this persistent pattern of violence will come to an end.
