Masked stranger repeatedly slashes woman, 29, on board NYC train when she refuses to hand over bag: cops, sources

A masked stranger slashed a 29-year-old woman multiple times on board a Lower Manhattan train late Wednesday when she refused to hand him her bag, authorities and sources said. 

The surgical mask-wearing mugger demanded the victim’s bag on board a northbound No. 3 train passing through the Wall Street station around 11:10 p.m. Wednesday, according to cops and law enforcement sources. 

When she refused to give up her bag, the brute flashed a knife and slashed the victim on her left arm and elbow, both hands and back, police said. 

He then snatched her cell phone and took off, authorities said.

The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was listed in stable condition. 

Footage released by the NYPD shows the menace — who had not been caught by Thursday afternoon — walking through the train car wearing the mask, a navy blue hoodie, black pants and black shoes. 

A photo shows the suspect — believed to be in his 20s, standing about 5-foot-11 and described as having a dark complexion and slim build — carrying a partly open gray backpack. 

The violent robbery came a day after another stranger stabbed a 25-year-old woman in an unprovoked attack in the stairwell of the 23rd Street C and E train station in Chelsea, authorities said. 

The maniac – later identified as 21-year-old Carlos Rivera – plunged what appeared to be a knife into the left side of the woman’s back for no apparent reason around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to authorities and sources. 

She was hospitalized in stable condition, police said. 

Rivera was captured by the Manhattan Robbery Squad Tuesday night and was charged with attempted murder, as well as multiple counts of assault, cops said. 

He has two prior arrests – one for allegedly stealing men’s clothing in Queens on June 24 – and a Brooklyn bust from May 10 in which cops say he snatched a phone from someone’s pocket.

The pair of disturbing subway incidents followed what NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described as “the safest July in our subway system in recorded history,” excluding the COVID period in 2020 and 2021, when ridership was low.