A machete-wielding robber forced a 15-year-old boy to strip off his sneakers aboard a northbound No. 2 train in the Bronx late Sunday night, then punched a bystander who tried to intervene, according to police. The NYPD is now searching for the suspect, who fled once the train reached the Intervale Avenue station.
The attack happened at 11:18 p.m. on October 18 near Westchester and Intervale avenues, when the suspect pulled a machete from a black backpack, opened the teenager's book bag and took the sneakers off his feet, according to PIX11. As reported by CBS New York, the victim was not physically injured in the robbery.
A 25-year-old bystander attempted to step in during the confrontation and was punched in the face by the suspect, per the same account from CBS New York. The good Samaritan refused medical treatment at the scene, and the suspect fled the train once it reached the Intervale Avenue platform, police said.
Suspect Description
Police described the suspect as a male between 17 and 20 years old with short black braided hair and brown eyes. The suspect was also described as having a light complexion, a heavy build, a black jacket, gray sweatpants and a black backpack, which he used to conceal the machete.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police. Tips can be submitted by phone at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), by text to 274637 (CRIMES) using the keyword TIP577, or through the NYPD Crime Stoppers mobile app. Spanish-speaking callers are asked to dial 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
Other Bronx Subway Violence
Forcibly stealing property while displaying or threatening the use of a weapon like a machete constitutes Robbery in the First Degree under New York Penal Law § 160.15, a Class B violent felony. The charge carries a mandatory state prison sentence once a suspect is identified and convicted.
The Sunday night robbery follows other reported violence on Bronx subways. Just five days earlier, on October 13, a 24-year-old passenger was stabbed on the northbound platform at East 180th Street station. Hoodline previously covered that attack in its piece on a knifepoint robbery near police HQ.
The Intervale Avenue station itself has seen violence before. A 42-year-old woman was stabbed in the arm by a stranger inside that same station on September 18, an attack Hoodline detailed in its report on the Longwood stabbing case. That attacker remained at large as of that report.
Citywide Numbers Tell a Mixed Story
NYPD CompStat data covering October 12 through October 18 shows transit crime rose 1.7% year-to-date compared to 2025, with 1,737 complaints versus 1,708, even as overall major crime citywide dropped 6.63% over the same period. Transit officials have described 2026 as the second-safest year across the transit system in the last 15 years, excluding the pandemic period.
Vital City has published research on transit safety. Machete violence specifically made headlines earlier this year when NYPD officers fatally shot a 44-year-old man armed with a machete inside Manhattan's Grand Central station on April 11, after he slashed three older adults on train platforms and refused orders to drop the blade, according to CBS and The New York Times.
