Philly Police arrest man accused of fatal stabbing in Kensington SEPTA station

Philadelphia police arrested a man they say fatally stabbed a 30-year-old man on a subway platform in a Kensington SEPTA station Monday morning.

The 33-year-old man, whom police did not identify, stabbed the victim in the chest at SEPTA’s Somerset Station, authorities said. He was arrested shortly before 1 p.m. three blocks away from the crime scene, at Ruth and East Monmouth Streets, said Deputy Police Commissioner Frank Vanore.

Police responded to the Somerset Station at 8:30 a.m. for a 911 call of a person screaming. When officers arrived, they found the victim on the westbound platform on the Market-Frankford Line with a stab wound to the left side of his chest, police said.

The man, whom police did not identify, was taken to Temple University Hospital and pronounced dead at 9:21 a.m., police said.

The stabbing stemmed from an argument that started on a Market-Frankford train and ended violently on the subway platform, Vanore said. A witness told police she overheard the victim and the suspect arguing on the train before the two got off the train and the suspect stabbed the victim, he said.

Philadelphia police and SEPTA transit police asked for the public’s help in identifying the suspect in images taken from SEPTA surveillance footage they released Monday. The footage shows the man wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt with Nike written across it, a red glove on his left hand, black pants, and black slide-style sandals.

Monday’s fatal stabbing is the latest in a recent spike in violence along the public transit system.

Last month, 15 people — including eight Northeast High School students — were shot over the course of four days on or near SEPTA properties or vehicles, and two of them were killed, including a high school student.

In January, a 28-year-old man was stabbed in the back multiple times in the 15th Street SEPTA subway station. Jason Howard, 33, was charged with aggravated assault and related crimes in connection with the incident.

Howard and the victim were experiencing homelessness and authorities said they were likely taking shelter in the subway station when they got into an argument and Howard pulled out a knife.

The spate of violence in recent months comes amid the worst year for homicides along the transit system since 2020, with six killings reported on SEPTA in 2023, according to agency data. Those 12 months also saw 108 aggravated assaults, down slightly from 2022, when there were 111.

In the month of January, there were two homicides and six aggravated assaults reported on SEPTA, according to the most recent available agency data.

SEPTA has seen more of its bus drivers call out from work after recent violent incidents, with employees citing psychological strain and fear.

Anyone with information about the latest crime is asked to call SEPTA transit police at (215) 580-8111.

On Monday evening, another stabbing was reported at a transit station in the city.

Around 5:50 p.m., a man was stabbed several times at PATCO’s station at Eighth and Market Streets in Center City, said Mike Williams, spokesperson for the Delaware River Port Authority. The man was transported to a local hospital and was listed in stable condition.

Williams said it appeared that the man was acting as a good Samaritan and attempted to intervene in a physical altercation between a man and a woman. The woman, who was punched in the face, was also taken to a local hospital to be evaluated.

Anyone with information helpful to that investigation can call DRPA police at 856-968-3301.

Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.