Suspect Charged in Subway Station Hammer Attacks

Police have charged a man in connection with a string of hammer attacks on subway riders in Brooklyn and Queens, authorities said.

Anthony Coward, 28, of Brooklyn, is suspected in three attacks on riders, two at the same station near the MetroCard machine, police said. 

He faces two charges of robbery in the Brooklyn attacks.

It wasn't immediately clear if he had an attorney. He said nothing to reporters as he was taken out of the police station where he'd been questioned Monday evening. 

The latest victim, a 32-year-old man, was at the Rockaway Avenue C train station in Bedford-Stuyvesant at about 9:20 a.m. Wednesday when he was approached from behind and hit with the hammer.

The man fell to the ground and the suspect demanded his money. Once the victim handed over the cash, the robber took off.

In an attack on May 4, a 23-year-old man was trying to buy a MetroCard at the same C train station around 11 a.m. when he was hit on the back of the head with a hammer. 

And on March 5, a 26-year-old pregnant woman was struck with a hammer near a subway station in Briarwood, Queens. 

She told NBC 4 New York at the time that the suspect was wearing a black jacket and hoodie. She said she fell to her knees after he hit her, and handed him her bag. He ran off with it.

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