AP Story of the Day

Sure, the New York subways drive me crazy from time to time, but really, this is ridiculous. It's been a while since I annotated a whole AP story, so here goes...

Subway Rider Sliced in Power Saw Attack

NEW YORK (AP) -- A man wielding a cordless power saw in each hand rampaged through a Manhattan subway station early Thursday, using one of the buzzing blades to carve into the chest of a postal worker who later said it felt like "he was trying to cut through me." (Well, first off, wow. Of course. But also, if you're attacked on Thursday by someone trying to "cut through you" with a power saw, and I'm reading a story on Friday morning where you're coherently describing the attack, I'd say you're pretty lucky. Oh, and also, there's some irony in a postal worker being on the receiving end of a psycho attack, no?)

Police arrested Tareyton Williams (ah, a great day for my surname), 33, of the Bronx, on attempted murder and other charges about two hours later after they said he punched someone in another random attack on the street. (Punching someone on the street?? Weak follow-up, Tareyton.)

The victim, Michael Steinberg, 64, was hospitalized in stable condition. Speaking by telephone to reporters who gathered outside the hospital, he said the attack was unprovoked.

The assailant "never spoke," Steinberg said. "I think he was out of his mind." (Let's not be rash.)

The attacker snatched the two saws from a cart being used by workers upgrading the public address system at a subway station a few blocks south of Columbia University. He assaulted Steinberg moments after taking a swipe at another rider and missing, police said.

"He looked at me and before I knew it he was attacking me," Steinberg said of the pre-dawn attack. "The motor kept going on. He was trying to cut through me."

Steinberg said the attacker finally paused to demand money, then bolted out of the station with his wallet and the power tools. (I'm not a pro, so far be it from me to recommend a different technique, but I'd think the physical logistics of getting money from someone are much easier prior to driving a power saw into their chest.) The saws were later found in a trash can.

Williams was in police custody Thursday evening. There was no telephone listing for him at the home address provided by police.

The attack came two weeks after a Boston man was charged with stabbing four people --three of them tourists -- over a 13-hour period in the subway and the theater district in Manhattan.

Two things struck me about this story. First, I really, really shouldn't complain about the subway experiences I've had. And second, I only heard about this story because PF was kind/menacing enough to send the link my way. This makes me think that perhaps Saratoga is an even better living option than I previously imagined, because scarier than the fact of the attack is the notion that one could live in a place so large and bustling and occasionally insane that people aren't talking about it.