MBTA Transit Police are searching for an unidentified man accused of punching two riders without any provocation in less than a month — once on a Green Line platform in Medford and again on a city bus in Cambridge. Investigators say the attacks, nearly three weeks apart, appear to be the work of the same person, and they're asking the public to help identify him before he strikes again.
The first incident happened around 5:45 p.m. on September 26, when the man allegedly punched a person at the Medford/Tufts Green Line station, according to Universal Hub. Nearly three weeks later, around 12:15 p.m. on October 18, police say the same man punched another rider on a Route 1 bus in Cambridge. Transit Police summed up the pattern bluntly, saying of the suspect that “he's punching people without provocation,” per the same report.
Anyone with information is asked to call Transit Police detectives at 617-222-1050, and tips can be submitted anonymously, Universal Hub reports. No arrest or charge in connection with either punch has been reported.
A Pattern of Unprovoked Attacks on Transit
This isn't the first time Transit Police have appealed for help tracking down someone accused of striking a rider out of nowhere. In September, investigators sought a man accused of punching a person over 60 in the face on a Red Line train at Shawmut, breaking the victim's jaw in an attack described as unprovoked, according to Universal Hub. In August, police also sought a female suspect accused of slapping and kicking a rider over 60 without provocation on a bus near Broadway and Cushman Avenue in Revere, as reported by Boston.com.
Earlier this month, Transit Police separately asked for the public's help identifying a person accused of grabbing a woman and forcing a kiss on her aboard an Orange Line train between Ruggles and Back Bay around midnight on September 28, Boston.com reported in a follow-up on that case. Years earlier, in February 2023, a man was sought for allegedly punching a 62-year-old woman on the Downtown Crossing concourse after she simply said “excuse me” — an assault WCVB described as occurring “without provocation or warning,” with the suspect described as wearing blue jeans, white sneakers, a gray hoodie and a green jacket.
Crime Trends Across the System
The latest search for a serial puncher comes even as overall crime on the MBTA has been trending downward. Transit Police recorded 712 major crimes systemwide in 2025, down from 823 the year before — a roughly 13 percent drop, according to The Boston Globe. Robberies fell from 90 to 60 incidents, and larcenies, the system's most common crime, dropped from 397 to 322. There were no homicides reported on the transit system in either 2024 or 2025, the paper noted.
Aggravated assaults, however, moved in the opposite direction, rising from 199 in 2024 to 204 in 2025, per the Globe's reporting. Near South Station, violent and property crime fell by about 16 percent through most of 2025 compared with the year before, though the broader numbers suggest that assaults specifically remain a stubborn exception to the system's overall improvement.
Worker Safety Concerns Persist
Assaults have also been a sore point in the MBTA's own safety reporting. The agency's April 2026 performance report found it was missing its targets for assaults on workers across subways, light rail and buses alike, according to Axios Boston. Light rail logged a 13-month high for major safety events that month, with its major safety event rate hitting 13.56 against a target of just 7.74, the outlet reported.
The strain has come even as ridership climbs back toward pre-pandemic levels; March 2026 ridership reached 86 percent of the pre-pandemic baseline, the highest March figure since 2019, per Axios Boston's reporting. The MBTA's FY27 budget includes 550 new workers and $122 million in federal maintenance funding, according to the same report, though it remains unclear how much of that investment is aimed specifically at rider or worker safety on buses and trains. For now, Transit Police say finding the man behind the September and October punches depends on someone recognizing him and picking up the phone.
