Man Claiming to Be Lucifer Stabbed Three People at Grand Central Terminal Before Police Shot Him Dead

A man wielding a machete stabbed three elderly people across two subway platforms at Grand Central Terminal in New York City on Saturday before police shot him dead after he refused more than 20 orders to drop his weapon.

The suspect, identified by the New York Police Department as 44-year-old Anthony Griffin, carried out the attacks on the morning of 11 April 2026, moving between platforms and targeting strangers who had no prior connection to him.

He was shot twice by a detective, transported to Bellevue Hospital, and pronounced dead. Three victims, aged 65, 70, and 84, were taken to local hospitals with injuries described by police as severe but not life-threatening.

The Attack: Vernon Boulevard to Grand Central, Platform by Platform

Surveillance footage confirmed by police showed Griffin entering the subway system at the Vernon Boulevard station in Queens at around 09:30 on Saturday morning. He boarded a northbound 7 train and rode it into Midtown Manhattan. Upon arriving at Grand Central, he attacked an 84-year-old man on the 7 train platform, inflicting what NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch described at a press conference as 'significant lacerations to the head and the face.'

Griffin then moved upstairs to the platform serving the 4, 5, and 6 train lines, where he attacked two more people. A 65-year-old man sustained similar facial lacerations and an open skull fracture, a severe head injury placing the brain at heightened risk of infection.

A 70-year-old woman suffered a laceration to the shoulder. Tisch confirmed that the three victims did not know one another and had no prior contact with Griffin. Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta characterised the attacks as random.

The sequence of violence across two platforms within a single station reflects a pattern of movement that police said was deliberate. A civilian flagged down two NYPD detectives who were working an overtime transit detail, alerting them to the attack in progress. The detectives encountered one of the bleeding victims on the stairs as they moved toward the 4/5/6 platform, then located Griffin still on the platform, machete in hand.

Twenty Orders, Two Shots

According to Commissioner Tisch's press conference statement, Griffin was 'behaving erratically' and 'repeatedly stating that he was Lucifer' during the confrontation. The two detectives issued at least 20 verbal commands for him to drop the large knife. Officers also attempted to de-escalate, telling Griffin directly: 'We are going to get you help.' He refused to comply.

Griffin advanced toward the officers with the blade extended. One detective discharged his service weapon twice. Emergency personnel performed CPR on Griffin at the scene before he was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Two NYPD officers were also taken to hospital following the incident, though the nature of their injuries was not specified by police. The machete was recovered at the scene, and the NYPD released a photograph of the weapon.

Tisch said the entire encounter was captured on police body-worn cameras. The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation into the officer-involved shooting, standard procedure following any discharge of a firearm by an officer. Body-worn camera footage is expected to be released publicly upon the conclusion of that review, in keeping with department policy.

Griffin had three prior unsealed arrests in New York City, according to Commissioner Tisch. She confirmed he had no documented history of being classified as an emotionally disturbed person by the department. Citing two separate law enforcement sources, CNN separately reported that he had more than a dozen prior arrests, including for menacing and slashing with a sharp object and a 2019 felony assault charge. The NYPD has not officially confirmed those additional figures.

Service Disruptions and Subway Violence in Context

In the hours following the attack, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority confirmed that 4, 5, 6, and 7 trains were bypassing Grand Central Terminal as the NYPD continued its investigation on the platforms. By Saturday afternoon, the MTA reported the 5 train suspended between Grand Central and 86th Street, with 7 train service running with delays in both directions. The disruptions affected one of the highest-traffic stations in the country during a busy weekend morning.

The attack drew immediate attention against a wider backdrop of high-profile subway violence in recent years. In December 2024, a man was charged with murder and arson after he allegedly set a woman on fire on a Brooklyn subway train. In January 2025, a separate arrest followed after a man allegedly pushed another passenger onto the tracks in Chelsea. Despite those incidents, Governor Hochul announced in December 2025 that subway crime had reached its lowest level in 16 years, with overall major crime falling 5.2 per cent from 2024.

The city's overall murder rate also dropped more than 20 per cent last year, falling from 382 in 2024 to 305, according to officials. The number of murders on the subway system reached its lowest recorded figure in 2025, at four, compared with 10 the prior year. Saturday's attack adds fresh pressure on that narrative, arriving at the heart of a transit system that tens of millions of passengers rely on each year.

Body-worn camera footage of the confrontation that ended Anthony Griffin's life will be released following the conclusion of the NYPD's internal investigation, and with it may come clearer answers about the final, violent minutes on a platform that commuters expected to walk through safely.