Man dies after being found unconscious with stab wounds on subway in Manhattan
NEW YORK -- Questions remain surrounding the death of a man, later identified as Tavon Silver, who was found with stab wounds on a subway in Manhattan.
Police say a fellow passenger found Silver, 32, unconscious with stab wounds on a southbound 4 train and then alerted a subway conductor.
Silver was found around 4 a.m. Saturday as the train pulled into the Union Square station. He was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Silver's death is being investigated as a homicide.
Police still haven't said where he was coming from, where exactly the stabbing took place or what led up to it.
"I've been taking the train all my life, really, but that is scary," Harlem resident Skarlette Troncoso said.
Another rider told us she's always cautious when taking the subway.
"I have my worries sometimes. You just have to be cautious and pay attention, be aware of your surroundings and try not to have confrontation. I do try to stay focused and pay attention to my surroundings," said Rhonda Charles, who was waiting for a subway later Saturday morning.
Watch Christina Fan's report
An NYPD spokesperson shared that transit crimes including murder, robbery and felony assault are actually down about 8% from around this time last year.
Despite that, subway riders who spoke to CBS2 say they don't feel safe.
"I certainly think there needs to be more team coordination with regard to the transit workers, especially on the front lines -- conductors, rail road clerks and so on, and supervisors. If there's better teamwork and coordination, that helps. That helps. Because you have more eyes looking out, you know, looking out from the system as far as the safety of the general people are concerned," said a former MTA conductor named Jonathan.
"Subway's not safe at all. Every ride, like, I'm always worried of what's gonna happen," one woman said.
"If there was a police officer walking in that train car, could this have been prevented?" said Charlton D'souza, president and founder of the grassroots organization Passengers United.
D'souza feels this incident was an example of a need for NYPD officers walking through subway cars at all hours.
Some straphangers agree, but not everyone thinks so.
"Like, there's no cameras, no anything, so anything could happen and nobody could help, so that's kind of, like, my biggest concern," Brooklyn resident Jaherah Seales said.
"I feel like they usually just escalate the situation than deescalate the situation," Troncoso said.
The early morning investigation at the station led to trains being re-routed for almost four hours.
The investigation is ongoing.
