NEW YORK — If you ride the New York City subway system, don’t expect anyone to help you if you’re getting attacked. They’re calling it the “Penny Effect,” where once-ready bystanders who would jump in to stop a threat are now just sitting and watching, not wanting to be the next good samaritan brought up on criminal charges by District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
A random stabbing spree at Grand Central Terminal on Christmas Eve has left victims shaken and questioning why no one stepped in to help during the violent attacks. Jason Sargeant, 28, is accused of slashing a man and a woman in separate attacks, including a brutal assault on Imani-Ciara Pizarro, 26, who said she was left to fend for herself after being stabbed in the throat.
Pizarro recounted the harrowing moments after the attack, saying that bystanders failed to act. “No one called 911. No one in Grand Central called 911. It was my neighbor. I called my neighbor. I was on the phone with my neighbor when it happened and she called 911,” Pizarro said.
The attack unfolded after Sargeant reportedly yelled, “What’s your problem?” before sucker-punching Pizarro in the back of the head.
He then lunged at her with a small knife, slashing her throat, and kicking her phone away as she attempted to call for help. Pizarro said she “blacked out” during the assault and described how witnesses, many of whom appeared to be tourists, “just froze” as the incident unfolded.
The lack of immediate assistance or a police presence at one of the city’s busiest transit hubs has raised concerns. Pizarro’s account highlights what she described as a shocking absence of intervention. “There was no one to help,” she said.
The attack on Pizarro was one of two stabbings allegedly carried out by Sargeant that evening. Police say the suspect first targeted a 25-year-old man in a separate incident at the terminal. The motive behind the attacks remains unclear, and authorities have not disclosed whether the victims were chosen at random.
