Man knifed in neck playing smartphone game on subway in NYC

A man playing a game on his smartphone on a subway train was knifed in the neck in an unprovoked attack by a stranger on the West Side early Saturday, cops said.

Wilfredo Salazar was on a downtown E train on his way home from his job busing tables at an Upper East Side restaurant when he was slashed in the neck about 5:10 a.m.

“When he stabbed I didn’t know what happened,” the Guatemalan immigrant said. “One lady said to me, ‘What happened? You’re bleeding’ and then I touched my neck and there was so much blood all on my clothes.”

“The knife went through my scarf," he added. “He didn’t even want anything. He stabbed me and he smiled. He smiled!”

The assailant, who police said was well-covered in winter clothes to protect him from the 20-degree temperatures, exited the train when the doors opened at the 14th St. station and ran off uptown.

Medics rushed Salazar to Bellevue Hospital, where he received one stitch to the left side of the neck.

“I don’t remember nothing in the ambulance because I felt very cold and nervous,” he said. “I just remember waking up in the hospital. I asked the nurse three times (if I would die), and she said, ‘No you’re OK, you’re OK.’ ”

The incident comes as police marked a 6% drop in slashings and stabbings across the five boroughs this year. As of Jan. 24, police had investigated 287 slashings and stabbings — compared with 306 during the same period last year.

Police described the suspect in Saturday’s attack as Hispanic, about 5-feet-9 and 170 pounds with spiky hair.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (800) 577-TIPS. All calls will be kept confidential.

source: www.nydailynews.com/