SEPTA officer shoots man who stabbed 3 people at subway station, police say

A SEPTA police officer shot a man after investigators said he stabbed three people, including a security guard, Monday night in Center City Philadelphia, according to SEPTA.

Around 8 p.m. SEPTA police received a call for an individual attempting to stab people at the Walnut-Locust Station on the subway platform, SEPTA Transit Police Chief Charles “Chuck” Lawson said.

There were up to three victims, two of which received minor injuries, and a woman had a wound to the neck, SEPTA said. The woman was stitched up and all the victims are doing OK, Lawson said.

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Police engaged the suspect at City Hall and chased him a short distance. Police used a stun gun on the suspect, which police said was ineffective.

"They told him to stop and freeze, but he kept on going. He kept on going and he just tried to run...," Lamar Hargrove, a witness, said.

During this time the suspect still had a knife and a SEPTA officer then fired his gun three times at the suspect, striking the man three time.

The suspect, who is in his mid 40s, was treated at a hospital, according to the police.

Lawson said the attack seemed unprovoked: "The individual came into the station and started making slashing motions just at people walking by."

Police said the suspect appears to be homeless.

The woman stabbed in the neck was a security worker for Extrity who is contracted with SEPTA and the other two victims were passengers. The wound to the woman's neck was not deep, a SEPTA spokesperson said Tuesday.

Two knives were recovered from the scene.

"The city has become violent, we've seen this. Dealing with a lot more angry population who are arming themselves with weapons and using them over senseless arguments," Lawson said.