As local authorities strive to curb crime, a 17-year-old girl was fatally stabbed in the neck outside a subway station in Queens, New York, on Wednesday night.
According to the New York Police Department, the victim, who has been identified as Sara Rivera, was found around 9:25 p.m. ET and transported to NYC Health and Hospitals/Elmhurst where she was pronounced dead.
While authorities continue to investigate the crime with no further details provided, the NYPD confirmed to Scripps News that they have taken a person of interest into custody.
Nationwide FBI data indicates violent crime rates are generally 40% to 60% lower than the spike in the early 1990s, and newly released data shows a 4.9% drop in overall index crime in New York in April compared to the same month last year, with major subway crimes down 23%. But Wednesday's stabbing comes as witnesses increasingly report violence and knife attacks in the area.
Last month, a knife attack on a crowded party boat at a New York City pier left three people hospitalized, and earlier this year, a CBS News investigation revealed a 48% increase in stabbings and slashings involving youths across New York City in 2023.
In March, the National Guard was deployed to the city's subway system to help police search passengers' bags for weapons, following a series of notable crimes on trains; now officials are expressing optimism that the additional security measures are helping reduce crimes and hope that the downward trend continues.
“New Yorkers should also be proud that, in every neighborhood, their police officers continue to achieve extraordinary results in the areas of crime prevention and mitigation. They truly are the best at what they do, and they will never be deterred from their primary mission of public safety,” said Police Commissioner Edward A. Caban in a press release.
