Police have charged Jyrell Thomas, 25, with murder after a fellow passenger was fatally stabbed on a J train in Queens. Thomas also faces a charge of criminal possession of a weapon.
Police said Thomas appeared agitated as he paced the train car before approaching Mesias Lojano, 59, shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday. Lojano tried to move away, but Thomas swung at him with a kitchen knife, police said. The confrontation continued onto a platform, where bystanders chased Thomas.
Witness Bismarck Villareyna recorded the attack and followed Thomas, directing officers to him. Thomas climbed onto a rooftop before being brought down. Police described him as emotionally disturbed; he was taken to a hospital Thursday morning for a psychiatric evaluation and arrested later.
The killing is the sixth homicide in the subway system this year, compared with four in all of last year and 10 in 2024. Subway assaults have risen 7% from the same point last year, from 410 to 441.
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