Woman at Frankford subway stop slashed with box cutter

A woman was attacked and slashed with a box cutter Wednesday morning while walking into a El stop in Frankford, SEPTA officials said.

Transit police were still searching for the suspect in the case Wednesday afternoon, said SEPTA Police Chief Thomas Nestel III.

The attack happened at 9:27 a.m., officials said, when a woman tried to enter the Margaret-Orthodox station of the Market-Frankford Line and got into an argument with a man inside the station.

"It wasn't a conversation she initiated or wanted," Nestel said.

The man punched the woman, 50, who defended herself, holding her arm in front of her face, Nestel said. That's when the man pulled out the box cutter and slashed her forearm.

Cashiers called police, who arrived in minutes, Nestel said. By then, the woman had walked to Aria Health-Frankford Campus, about two blocks south. She was treated for a five-inch gash to a forearm, Nestel said.

Detectives found her at the hospital and interviewed her. On Wednesday, transit police released video showing the suspect walking through the station just before the attack, but they would not say whether there was additional video of the incident.

Nestel said that it wasn't clear what the argument had been about and that the victim, who lives in the neighborhood, did not recognize her attacker.

"We don't have these kinds of things occur," he said. "It's disturbing to us."

Anyone with any information on the incident is asked to call SEPTA detectives at 215-580-8111.

Watch transit police video of the suspect in the attack at www.philly.com/

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