Bronx Man, Charged in Grand Central Subway Stabbing, Claims He Was Attacked First

A Bronx man has been charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault following a stabbing of two men on the 5 train subway platform at Grand Central around 7:20am on June 17. However, according to his private defender, the stabbing was an act of self-defense.

Gavin Ferguson, 30, of the Bronx was arrested by police hours after the stabbings as a sharp-eyed officer noticed him on Second Avenue at a job site. He has been charged with attempted murder and second-degree assault, according to police.

After responding to a 911 call, police discovered two men—a 28-year-old and a 32-year-old—had been stabbed following a verbal altercation that began between the 28-year-old victim and a suspect on the 5 train before spilling onto the subway platform of the 4, 5, and 6 lines. The first victim was stabbed in the abdomen.

The 32-year-old victim was injured when he came to the assistance of the other man on the platform and was stabbed himself in the abdomen and buttocks.

EMS rushed both victims to NYC Health and Hospitals / Bellevue. Both were in stable condition.

The entire incident was captured on video footage. Prosecutors said that the first victim moved to let the defendant exit the train, but the defendant turned around, punched, and stabbed the first victim.

As the first victim attempted to exit the train, a second person intervened, allowing the first victim to escape. The second victim was stabbed repeatedly.

Prosecutors said the defendant admitted to the stabbings after initially denying involvement. Ferguson claimed he felt “disrespected” because the first victim had stepped on his shoes.

Ferguson initially fled the scene and was picked up police at a job site and charged 15 hours after the altercation and arraigned in criminal court on June 19. He is facing a minimum of five and a maximum of 25 years prison if convicted. His bail was set at $500,000 cash, $750,000 insurance company bond, and $750,000 partially secured surety bond. He is charged with one count of attempted murder in the second degree, one count of assault in the first degree, one count of attempted assault in the first degree, and two counts of assault in the second degree.

However, according to his attorney, Paul D’Emilia, Ferguson acted out of self-defense and pleaded not guilty.

A 30-year-old plumber who has lived in the US since age 15 and is a a citizen, Ferguson was jostled, spat upon, and then punched multiple times as he tried to exit the subway, D’Emilia maintained.

Ferguson has no prior criminal record and is supported by an extensive family network in the NYC area, his attorney said. Many of the extended family members were present at his arraignment, close to midnight on June 19.

“We are confident that when details of the assault on Mr. Ferguson are presented to the District Attorney, he will be exonerated,” D’Emilia wrote in an email to Straus News.

This event marks the latest in a string of violent incidents at Grand Central this year.

On Jan. 5, Metro‑North passenger Abdul Malik Little stabbed a 31‑year‑old commuter in the chest. Per the Metro-North Transit Police Department (MTAPD), the incident occurred around 7pm, when the passenger asked Little about his music volume.

After a verbal altercation, Little, 46, allegedly stabbed the victim twice in the chest. Little was apprehended at the scene, and the victim was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition.

Two days later, two men, ages 30 and 50, were involved in an altercation on the northbound 4, 5, and 6 train platform at 42nd Street-Grand Central. The men knifed each other in the arms, with one being treated by emergency responders at the scene while the other was taken to Bellevue Hospital.

Earlier this year, Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams expanded subway safety initiatives in response to increased reports of violence in the transit system. Plans included ensuring that 300 uniformed NYPD officers are deployed on 150 night trains, installing new protective barriers on platforms in more than 100 stations, and installing LED lighting in all subway stations to increase visibility, among other things.

”I am committed to ensuring that every rider feels safe when they enter our transit system and are on the subway,” Governor Hochul said.

And Adams has said that since the surge in police presence, crime in the transit system is down.

Though both victims of the June 18 attack are expected to recover, the incident has once again raised concerns about safety in NYC subway stations.

Mayor Adams said it is a perception and reality problem. The city’s Compstat figures show overall crime incidents are down 6.05 percent year-to-date compared with the same period last year. Transit crimes are down 2.4 percent, to 967 incidents compared with 991 in the same period a year ago. Mayor Adams said it is a perception and reality problem with many people saying they don’t feel safe even as crime nudges downward.

“We turned the city around, folks,” insisted Mayor Adams at his weekly press briefing on June 17. “What is it going to take before people realize they thought we were going to fail? . . . We did it in three years and six months. And people need to catch up and read the memo. We have been successful.”