Anthony Griffin, 44, stabbed a 65-year-old man, a 70-year-old woman and an 84-year-old man on Saturday, April 11
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)/Grand-Central-Station-Stabbing-04126-311f5e91ff464cc0b6988ed929bf1992.jpg "Police presence after a man was shot by New York Police Department (NYPD) officers inside Grand Central Station in New York, New York, USA, 11 April 2026.")
Credit: Olga Fedorova/EPA/Shutterstock
NEED TO KNOW
- A man, who called himself "Lucifer," stabbed three people with a machete at New York City's Grand Central Terminal on Saturday, April 11
- Anthony Griffin, 44, stabbed a 65-year-old-man, a 70-year-old woman and an 84-year-old man in the attack
- Griffin was shot and killed by officers responding to the incident
A man, who called himself "Lucifer," stabbed three people with a machete at New York City's Grand Central Terminal and was eventually shot and killed by police officers responding to the incident.
According to the New York Police Department (NYPD), a male suspect, identified by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch as 44-year-old Anthony Griffin, entered the city's major transit hub wielding a machete on Saturday, April 11.
Tisch said at a press conference that Griffin initially entered the subway system at the Vernon Boulevard station in Queens at around 9:30 a.m. local time and boarded a No. 7 train to Grand Central Station.
He was allegedly "behaving erratically," Tisch said, "repeatedly stating that he was Lucifer."
Credit: Olga Fedorova/EPA/Shutterstock
Police were alerted to the assault in progress at 9:40 a.m., and by that time, an 84-year-old man had sustained "lacerations to the head and face."
Griffin allegedly headed upstairs inside the station to the platform for the 4, 5 and 6 trains, where he slashed a 70-year-old woman on her shoulder. A 65-year-old man also sustained "similar injuries," the NYPD said. All three victims were taken to a local hospital, and their conditions were listed as stable.
When police arrived, they confronted Griffin and eventually fatally shot him, Tisch said.
"Our officers were confronted with an armed individual who had already injured multiple people and was continuing to pose a threat," Tisch said. "They gave clear commands. They attempted to de-escalate, and when that threat did not stop, they took decisive action to stop it and to protect New Yorkers on one of the busiest train platforms in the city."
Credit: Olga Fedorova/EPA/Shutterstock
"The individual refused to comply with at least 20 orders to drop the knife. Officers also attempted to de-escalate and offer assistance, saying, 'We are going to get you help,' " the commissioner added. "He then advanced toward the officers with the knife extended. One officer discharged his firearm, striking the perpetrator twice."
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Griffin was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Two police officers were also taken to the hospital, and their conditions were listed as stable.
Tisch said during the press conference that the attack appeared to be random and that the victims did not know Griffin.
The NYPD said that Griffin had three previously unsealed arrests.
Officials said multiple trains would be diverted from the station as the investigation continued, and photos taken at the scene showed yellow tape near the turnstiles at Grand Central to bar commuters from entering.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani wrote on social media after the incident that he had been briefed on the situation.
"I’m grateful to the NYPD for their quick response and for preventing additional violence," Mamdani wrote. "The three victims were taken to the hospital and are thankfully in stable condition. The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation and will release body-worn camera footage, as it does in all incidents involving the discharge of an officer's firearm."
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