A Brooklyn subway rider repeatedly knifed an on-duty MTA operator trying to empty a car after the train reached its last stop Tuesday, police said.
The unidentified assailant was sitting in a No. 4 train car at the Crown Heights-Utica Ave. stop at about 10:50 a.m. when the 60-year-old operator, Myran Pollack, walked through, telling passengers remaining on the train they had to step out onto the platform.
The suspect refused to leave, sparking an argument, police said.
He then flashed a knife and lunged at the MTA employee, stabbing him six to nine times in both the stomach and leg, said members of Transport Workers Union Local 100, which represents MTA operators.
EMS rushed the victim to Kings County Hospital where he was undergoing surgery for multiple stab wounds to the chest, abdomen and leg. Transport Union members said Pollack was in critical condition.
The suspect ran off but was subsequently caught by police. He reportedly has 14 prior arrests, including an assault on an MTA conductor.
Subway operators drive the train while conductors operate the train’s doors.