(PHOTO CREDIT: Jeenah Moon/Reuters via CNN Newsource)
New York (CNN) — Five people were injured in a stabbing at New York’s Penn Station Sunday evening, raising security concerns with the city set to host the NBA Finals on Monday with President Donald Trump in attendance.
The attack came amid heightened security around Madison Square Garden, which lies directly above the busy intercity railroad station, where the New York Knicks are hosting the San Antonio Spurs for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday.
The New York City Fire Department said it received a call around 7 p.m. reporting multiple people stabbed at West 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, one entrance to Penn Station.
One person suffered serious injuries, four others have moderate or minor injuries, according to the fire department. Those five were taken to Bellevue Hospital, and none of the injuries are life-threatening, another law enforcement official said.
A suspect was in custody, according to a law enforcement official.
One witness told CNN affiliate WCBS that officers pepper-sprayed the suspect and tackled him. “They had to get other cops in order to grab him,” the witness said.
“He was just screaming, waving his head around,” another witness told WCBS of the suspect. “I’ve seen him once, but I didn’t think he was capable of doing anything.”
One woman said she and her father were sitting on the steps of Madison Square Garden when they heard a scream nearby. Soon after, they saw police cars and ambulances arrive and a food truck worker holding what looked like a bloody towel to his head.
“We feel scared … because today my dad came to drop me off from my job to the train station, but who knows, it could happen again,” Subul Sadaq told Spectrum News NY1.
Monday marks the first time the NBA Finals are coming to Madison Square Garden since 1999. Extra deployments, additional monitoring of cameras, more intelligence sharing and even drone deployments are part of an aggressive, proactive approach in an elevated threat environment, officials say.
Federal authorities had also already been working to implement a detailed security plan in anticipation of Trump’s appearance Monday at Game 3.
Penn Station is a main connecting point for city subway trains, passenger rail to New Jersey and Long Island, and the city’s Amtrak station.
Amtrak police responded to Sunday’s stabbing, the company’s communications director told CNN, and an investigation is underway.
There was no impact on Amtrak service, New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a statement.
“My heart is with everyone who was injured, their loved ones, and all those shaken by this unacceptable violence. I’m wishing each of the victims a full and speedy recovery,” Mamdani said.
“I’m grateful to the Amtrak Police Department and the first responders who acted quickly to apprehend the suspect and provide emergency care,” he added.
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