A man was caught in Queens after going on a subway cutting rampage just a day after being apprehended and released from jail for carrying a weapon.
Donny Ubiera, 32, attacked two riders at random on a Flushing-to-Times Square 7-line subway train on Friday and Saturday, according to the NYPD. One victim was stabbed in the face, while the other was injured in the neck.
Ubiera had only been freed from jail the day before after being jailed for reportedly refusing to put a knife away in front of police officers who had ordered him to do so. He tried to run with the weapon at first, waving it at them.
Ubiera had previously been arrested three times in 2022, according to police, and had been in problems with the law at least 19 times before last week’s stabbings.
‘Your cops are doing a good job. In a statement released on Sunday, NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell said, “We keep arresting him.”
‘His record shows that whenever he commits unprovoked violence against innocent victims, the criminal justice system sends him back to the streets and subways rather than jail or psychiatric treatment,’ she continued.
‘It’s only a matter of time until he goes for another victim.’ This isn’t going to be anything if it’s not predictable.’
Ubiera was apprehended by authorities on Sunday after officers spotted him in public wearing the same clothing he wore while on the run.
A gold and black short-sleeve button-down shirt was worn while carrying out the attacks.
Surveillance camera also captured the man threatening to stab people with a knife while wearing the same outfit in a subway station.
The first homicide occurred around 8:40 a.m. on Friday near Queensboro Plaza in Long Island City, leaving a straphanger with gashes to his face and wrists, according to authorities.
The unidentified victim was transported to the hospital for stitches. According to the New York Post, the train where the cutting occurred was also taken out of service after a large amount of blood was spilled on it.
Ubiera was not caught on the scene following the assault, and the next day at 7:15 a.m. at the 74th Street-Broadway station in Jackson Heights, Queen, he slashed another subway commuter.
The perpetrator allegedly exhibited his weapon to his next victim before stabbing them in the neck, according to authorities. After that, Ubiera was able to depart the scene.
The second victim has not been identified, but was rushed to Elmhurst Hospital and is reported to be in stable condition.
Cops discovered the knife used by Ubiera in the second attack on Saturday when they arrived on the site. After 12 hours, he was apprehended.
The New York Post said that two days before the initial stabbing on Friday, Ubiera was approached by police after a 911 call reporting a guy with a knife was made.
He was detained immediately after refusing to put down the weapon when cops ordered him to do so and he was charged with criminal possession of a weapon, possession of a controlled narcotic, and reckless endangerment.
After spending more than 24 hours behind prison, he was released on Thursday.
Ubiera is charged with two counts of attempted murder, assault, and weapons possession following both slashings over the weekend.
Ubiera was also charged with another crime on Wednesday, which allegedly involved a 45-year-old employee being beaten with a stick at Delicias Calenas, a Colombian restaurant and bakery on Roosevelt Avenue in Queens.
The suspect was also arrested in January for brandishing a knife and threatening a bodega employee on 74th Street in Queens after he shoplifted from the store.
Ubiera was arrested on December 27 for assaulting two employees at a Duane Reade store on Manhattan’s East 2nd Street. He assaulted two other employees at Sunny and Annie’s in Alphabet City later that day.
Last November, Ubiera was arrested in Queens after a physical argument at a homeless shelter on Ditmars Boulevard, where he assaulted another guy.
Despite Mayor Eric Adams’ commitment to reduce local crime, the slashings are the latest in a string of incidents in New York City’s subway system under his leadership.
The number of crimes committed in the subway system increased by 54% in 2022 compared to 2021.
New York Mayor Eric Adams, a former NYPD officer, has been vocal about reducing crime in the city, but has been chastised for his and the police’s reluctance to act.
While homicides and shootings are down about 9% and 7%, respectively, from last year, overall crime is up nearly 40% so far in 2022, according to NYPD data.
Robberies have increased by 39.5 percent, while felony assaults have increased by 19 percent and rapes have increased by 16 percent.
However, transit crime has climbed the greatest, by almost 54 (53.6%), with 989 incidents reported through June 6, 2022, compared to 644 incidents reported at the same period last year.