Meat cleaver attack on SEPTA bus leaves passenger injured, suspect in custody
PHILADELPHIA - Wild scenes erupted onboard a SEPTA bus early Thursday morning when a man was slashed by a meat cleaver just outside Philadelphia Police headquarters.
It all began when two men got into a fight on the bus near Broad and Callowhill Streets around 2:30 a.m.
The situation quickly escalated when police say one of the men pulled out a meat cleaver and began attacking the other.
Lacerations to the hand and head caused the 61-year-old victim to lose alot of blood, but he is said to be in stable condition at a local hospital.
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Police say the victim was able to take the meat cleaver from the 45-year-old attacker, who was taken into custody.
He will face assault charges and be given a mental health examination.
"According to other passengers on the bus, the individual with the meat cleaver started chanting, saying some things and possibly had some mental health issues because he wasn’t making sense and, for unknown reasons, began to strike the 45-year-old passenger," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The meat cleaver was recovered by police, who were able to take immediate action when the bus pulled up right in front of their headquarters.
"There are uses for a meat cleaver, usually to cut meat for use in a kitchen or butcher shop. Why this individual had to be clever on the SEPTA bus we don’t know," Small said.