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3 MTA Workers Injured In 2 Unprovoked Attacks Less Than 30 Minutes Apart

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – There has been another outbreak of violence against MTA workers in Manhattan.

Police sources tell CBS2 three transit employees were attacked in separate incidents within 30 minutes of each other on Friday.

Investigators say the first attack took place around 2:35 p.m. near the corner of West 136th Street and Broadway.

A driver in a black Ford reportedly got into an argument with the operator of an M-5 bus and then threw a glass bottle at the MTA vehicle's window. The bus's driver side window shattered and injured both the operator and another MTA employee on board.

"When I turned I just saw that the bus driver's lip was busted, bleeding," witness Juan Griffith said.

That driver then fled the scene.

"It makes you feel a little nervous on the job, it makes you feel the work you do is not as safe as it could be," MTA worker Glenn O'Sullivan told CBS2.

mta attack
MTA bus window broken in an attack on transit workers on Nov. 29, 2019. (Credit: CBS2)

Minutes later, a subway conductor was punched in the face at the 125th Street/St. Nicholas Avenue station in an unprovoked attack.

Police say this happened around 2:50 p.m. and the attacker fled on foot without exchanging any words with the subway operator before hitting him.

"The pattern of unprovoked attacks on Transit workers is reprehensible to the MTA, our employees and all concerned New Yorkers. We are fully cooperating with NYPD investigators and expect the perpetrators, when arrested, to be subjected to maximum prosecution and sentencing," Robert Diehl of NYC Transit Safety and Security said in a statement.

All the MTA employees were treated for minor injuries.

FLASHBACK: Gov. Cuomo Blasts Rash Of Attacks On MTA Workers: 'Public Employees Must Be Protected'

"I think whoever is going around attacking the MTA workers need to take into consideration, would you like it if you were attacked on your job? How would you feel?" Malick Kemp of Harlem told CBS2's Christina Fan.

The NYPD is still looking for suspects in both attacks.

Police say they will be reviewing video at the subway turnstiles to try and find the suspect who punched the subway operator.

Anyone with information about these incidents is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or 1-888-57-PISTA (74782) for Spanish. You can also submit a tip via the Crime Stoppers website, by tweeting @NYPDTips or by texting 274637.

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