Two 16-year-olds were slashed in the arms and face with a boxcutter and pocket knife while waiting for their trains in a pair of horrifying attacks at New York City subway stations on Thursday, police said.
Israel Vazquez was waiting with a friend at the 103rd Street station at Corona Plaza, Queens, when a stranger interrupted their morning commute to school shortly after 9 a.m.
Anayely Quiroz-Calderon, Israel’s mother, said the suspect got into a verbal dispute with her son and suddenly took a swing at him.
“He tried to punch my son, so Israel was defending himself and got into a fight,” Quiroz-Calderon told The Post. “When his phone fell out of his pocket, Israel turned around to pick it up, and that’s when the other guy took out a pocket knife and attacked my son.”
During the scuffle, Israel was stabbed twice in the left arm, once in the back, and once in the left side of his face, police said.
The suspect quickly fled, with Israel going back home to call his mother about the incident.
After the adrenaline wore off and he realized the extent of his injuries, he was transported to the NY Presbyterian Queens hospital, and is recovering at home.
“I was so scared when he told me about it,” his mother said. “I never thought something like this could happen.”
Hours later, a similar incident occurred at the 174th Street Station in the Bronx, where three female suspects attacked a 16-year-old girl.
The victim was on the northbound No. 2 and 5 train platform around 2:50 p.m. when the suspects targeted her in the unprovoked attack, police said.
During the assault, one of the suspects took out a box cutter and slashed the victim in the head, ear, neck and both arms.
The suspects fled on foot, with the victim taken to the Jacobi Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, according to police.
Along with the attacks on the two 16-year-olds, police reported another subway assault in Times Square, only this time, a teen was the perpetrator.
Officials said a transit cop working at the 42nd Street Station in Times Square stopped a 17-year-old who had allegedly jumped the turnstiles to avoid paying the fare.
When he approached the suspect, the teen punched the transit cop in the face, with the officer arresting the fare beater.
But as the cop was arresting him, the teen managed to kick the officer in the face, leaving him with a laceration, officials said.
The teen was taken into custody, with the officer treated at the station by first responders.