A subway rider was reportedly attacked without warning by a seemingly unstable individual, described as smiling.
Friends and police say that 25-year-old Roberto Gaspard was focused on his phone when a stranger approached him on train No. 7 at the Covid 111st Station in Queens.
The assailant, caught on surveillance cameras with a broad grin, stabbed Gaspard in the neck and then twice in the back with an “unknown sharp object,” according to authorities.
Gaspard was transported to New York Presbyterian/Queens Hospital, where a friend, 35-year-old Pal Thomas Carell, noted that he is now unable to speak and is on a ventilator.
“It’s serious. He can’t talk,” Carell said in Spanish outside Gaspard’s apartment. “He’s in ICU, connected to a machine.
“The doctor mentioned he might speak. We just hope he’ll recover and be able to communicate again.”
Carell expressed his sadness for Gaspard, stating, “He didn’t see anything. He has no idea who did this to him.”
Gaspard moved to the United States from Guatemala about seven to eight years ago. According to Carell, he has four sisters, with one living in the city.
The victim usually works long hours in Manhattan restaurants, taking on various tasks from cooking to cleaning. He sends money home to support his parents and sisters.
As for that fateful day, Carell mentioned that Gaspard was simply riding home after a shift when the attack occurred.
“I’m angry. He hasn’t done anything wrong,” Carell said. “I believe [the attacker] is a bad person. Why would he do something like this? They need to find this guy.”
Pointing to the grin on the suspect’s face in the footage, Carell added, “He seems to be laughing. He doesn’t care about the harm he caused my friend.”
He characterized Gaspard as a “quiet man” who, after tiring shifts, just wants to go home and sleep.
Carell plans to visit Gaspard in the hospital, where Gaspard’s sister, alongside her husband, was already present and visibly upset.
As of Tuesday, the attacker remains at large, according to the police.
Carell, who also works in a restaurant in Manhattan, admitted that he now feels uneasy about taking the train at night.
“Sometimes I ride my bike, but I also take the train occasionally,” he said. “I usually head home around 10 PM.”
If anyone has information related to the attack, they are urged to contact the NYPD Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or in Spanish at 1-888-57-Pista (74782).
Tips can also be submitted through the Crime Stoppers website.
