Exclusive: Woman Slashed In Face On Subway Speaks Out
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Queens woman says she was slashed in the face while fighting off a man trying to steal her purse on the subway.
The cuts are still fresh for 26-year old Nadia Kashem, who says she was slashed between the eyes with a box cutter on a 6 train while she was on her way to visit a friend in the Bronx.
"I saw blood, that's when I started crying on the train because that's when it hit me I could've died," she said.
In an exclusive interview with CBS2's Natalie Duddridge, Kashem said the train pulled up to the 3rd Avenue and 138th Street station just after 1 p.m. Sunday when the door opened and a man tried to grab her purse.
Kashem said she held onto it tight and that's when she felt a sharp object against her eye and her nose.
"He dragged me out to almost the outside of the train, because I was holding onto the bag," she said. "He wouldn't let go. I fell to the floor and I just was still holding it. At that moment, I felt him punch me on the side and then he ran off."
He still had her purse, but it was covered in blood. Kashem said several straphangers came to her aid and called 911. She was taken to Lincoln Hospital, where she was received several stitches between her eyes and on her cheek.
She said some witnesses helped give her a description of the man. She said he was about 5'10" with a goatee and was wearing yellow and black sneakers. Passengers now say they're afraid that someone dangerous is on the loose. Kashem hopes by speaking out, it will prevent anyone else from getting hurt.
"I feel angry," she said. "Just because he got away, just the fact that someone would do this over some money."
Though Kashem gets her stitches out next week, she says the scars and the fear of riding the subway will last a lifetime.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-tips (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-pista (74682), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (crimes) then enter tip577.
