A suspect has been nabbed for stabbing a man to death on a Manhattan subway train during a clash over the killer stepping on the victim’s shoes, cops said Wednesday.
Luis Jose-Duarte, 46, was arrested for manslaughter Wednesday morning for the stabbing death of 38-year-old Sheldon John.
The confrontation started when Jose-Duarte, 46, got on a downtown No. 5 train at Grand Central Station at about 8:25 a.m. Friday and at some point stepped on the victim’s shoes, police said.
John took offense and got into an argument with Jose-Duarte, who then stabbed John in the upper body as the train headed downtown.
Both men got off the train at the City Hall stop. John followed Jose-Duarte as they walked off the subway, at which point Jose-Duarte turned around and allegedly stabbed the victim a second time.
“He stabbed him twice in the chest on the train and then again on the platform,” John’s shocked mother, Monica John, 67, told the Daily News last week. “I can’t believe they’re killing people on the subway. It’s terrible. Just so terrible.”
John was rushed to Bellevue Hospital but could not be saved.
Police sources said John appeared to have a history of mental illness and had been arrested more than 60 times, most recently on Feb. 6 when he was accused of punching a cop who saw him selling MetroCard turnstile swipes.
Jose-Duarte lives in the Bronx, according to cops.
Originally Published: April 30, 2025 at 4:12 PM EDT
