 [NY Post] Three people were slashed and another pepper-sprayed and bitten near Times Square overnight into Wednesday — both in the subway and out on the street, authorities said.
The spate of unrelated attacks ended with a 26-year-old man slashed on his right arm as he stood on the 7 train platform at the Times Square subway hub about 3:45 a.m., cops said.
The victim claimed the suspect had accosted him previously — and, once confronted, the stranger knifed him in return, according to police sources.
Police at the scene of a man stabbed in the chest in the 40th Street Subway Station near the New York Times building.
The wounded man showed cops a photo of his attacker — and the suspect, identified as Michael Hernandez, 25, of Brooklyn, was soon busted by police, according to authorities and sources.
Hernandez was charged with second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, cops said.
Officers found a switchblade in the left pocket of his shorts, sources said.
In an unrelated attack around 1 a.m., Sara Flores, 19, was walking through Bryant Park, at West 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue, when she told Jennifer Tompkins, 30 — a complete stranger — that a group had just jumped her, cops said.
Tompkins warned Flores to leave her alone or she’d pepper-spray her — but Flores persisted, according to police.
Then an all-out brawl ensued between the women — with Tompkins allegedly pepper-spraying Flores and biting her on the lip — and Flores stabbing Tompkins in the head and the ribs, cops said.
Both women were arrested with assault and menacing, both in the second degree, police said.
Flores is from the Bronx and Tompkins from Queens, authorities said.
That explains it. I guess?
The earliest assault unfolded around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, when a 31-year-old man was slashed in the stomach after getting into an argument with another man on the southbound A, C and E platform, cops said.
The victim was taken to Bellevue, where he was listed in stable condition, police said.
The nature of the violent clash was unclear Wednesday, and no arrests have been made.
The chaotic incidents came hours after Mayor Eric Adams touted how much the Crossroads of the World is thriving.
"Any time you don’t believe the city’s back, just go hit Times Square and you see just the people walking, just enjoying being in our city," Hizzoner said at a Monday morning briefing.
Felony assaults are up about 13% so far this year in the confines of the Midtown South Precinct, which covers Times Square.
A total of 276 such crimes were reported from the beginning of the year through Sunday, compared to 244 during the same period in 2023, the latest data show.
Overall felony crime, however, is down in the precinct’s confines so far this year, with 1,766 incidents reported compared to 2,022 last year.
Thomas Anderson, 49, said those crime statistics made him feel nervous before visiting the city from Vermont for the first time this week.
"The problem is that if people don’t have options, they commit crimes," he said.
Sherri, a commuter from Suffolk County, is glad that she is strictly in the city until 5 p.m. every day. She blames crime on the legalization of weed and poor mental health.
"There’s a lot of mental health that comes into play and there’s just not enough help out there, so unfortunately other people are the victims of that," she said.
Michael Hargwood, 36, and his father Warren Hargwood, 62, said they didn’t find crime to be as big an issue as it’s made out to be, especially on the subway.
"It’s not as bad as they say it is, it comes in spurts," Michael said. "Earlier this year, you were inundated with incidents on the subway and now there’s none, I think after the National Guard came in the blink of an eye and now they’re not there." 
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