Man arrested for slashing 2 people at Grand Central facing charges, held on $150K bail
MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) -- The man who police say slashed two people at Grand Central on Christmas Eve is now facing a series of charges. Jason Sargeant, 28, was held on $150,000 bail at his arraignment Wednesday night. He faces several charges including assault, reckless endangerment and criminal possession of a weapon, among others. Police say the Brooklyn resident activated the emergency brake as a No. 5 train arrived at Grand Central around 10:15 p.m. on Tuesday. According to the criminal complaint, Sargeant was screaming, "(expletive) all these people" before he slashed two victims. The first was a 42-year-old man who was slashed on the northbound 4/5/6 train platform. Officials say the victim was "bleeding profusely on the scene. He suffered a deep cut to his wrist, lost a significant amount of blood, requiring a tourniquet to be applied on the scene and was taken to Bellevue, where he remains for treatment, having possible nerve damage to his left wrist." They say Sargeant then walked upstairs where he punched a 26-year-old woman in the face before lunging at her with the knife, causing a small cut to her neck. She was treated and released from the hospital, and both victims are expected to recover. An MTA police officer took Sargeant into custody. Mayor Eric Adams says Sargeant has a history of mental illness. "This appears to be a person who had a mental health history in the past. This clearly is a person that needs help," Mayor Adams said. "As we go back to Albany, we need to look at involuntary removals. As we go back to Albany, we need to look at more long-term housing beds."
