Man Charged in Unprovoked Subway Stabbing on NYC's J Train

A 25-year-old man has been charged with murder following a fatal stabbing on a packed J train in Queens on Wednesday evening. Jyrell Thomas is accused of fatally stabbing Mesias Lojano, 59, in what authorities have described as an unprovoked attack.

The incident occurred around 5:20 p.m. as the southbound J train approached the Woodhaven Boulevard station. Police reported that Thomas allegedly produced a knife and stabbed Lojano multiple times in the torso and neck. Lojano, a resident of Ozone Park, was transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Harrowing video footage, captured by a commuter and shared on social media, depicts panicked passengers fleeing the subway car as the attack unfolds. The video shows Thomas, who was reportedly shoeless, stabbing Lojano while the victim was on the floor. Lojano attempted to shield himself, sustaining a bloody hand in the process. Thomas is then seen pulling Lojano by his hoodie out of the car and onto the platform before fleeing.

The suspect, identified as Thomas, a Bronx resident, then descended the station stairs, pursued by other passengers including the person filming the incident. The pursuit continued out of the station and onto the street, with Thomas eventually apprehended by police on a garage roof. He was also hospitalized, though the reason was not specified.

Authorities confirmed that Thomas and Lojano did not know each other, and the attack was unprovoked. Thomas has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon.

Records indicate Thomas has a prior arrest from early September for alleged petit larceny, obstruction of governmental administration, and criminal possession of stolen property. This previous charge stemmed from an incident involving the alleged theft of merchandise from a Target store in the Bronx, followed by an attempt to evade law enforcement.