Police arrest man in connection with SEPTA station attacks on two teen girls
"We will continue looking at this and whether or not hate crime charges would be potentially added," said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.
SEPTA police on Thursday arrested a 27-year-old Philadelphia man they believe randomly assaulted two teen girls at subway stations on their way to school in separate incidents earlier this month.
Torey Egypt Grier was taken into custody and will be charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, and related offenses for his attack on one of the girls, the District Attorney’s Office said. Similar charges are expected to soon be approved and filed for the second attack, the DA’s Office said.
Grier had not yet been arraigned as of Thursday afternoon, and it was not immediately clear whether he had retained a lawyer.
The first assault occurred Sept. 9 at the Broad Street Line’s Walnut-Locust station. Around 7 a.m., a 16-year-old Central High School student was on her way to school, when Grier allegedly grabbed her by the neck and threw her to the ground. The girl had no prior interaction with Grier, SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch said, and he immediately fled the scene after the attack.
The second incident occurred Sept. 13, around 7:30 a.m. at the City Hall station. Again, with no verbal interaction or provocation, police said, Grier stepped off a southbound train, then repeatedly punched a 13-year-old Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration Student in the face, causing injuries to her left eye, nose, and cheek. He again fled the scene.
Neither girl was hospitalized, Busch said. The girls reported the attacks to school officials later in the morning, he said, who connected them with police.
Both girls were of Asian descent, Busch said.
“Since there was nothing said by the attacker, we don’t know if these are hate-crimes incidents,” he said.
Still, Busch said, police “will continue looking at this and whether or not hate-crime charges would be potentially added.”
The random nature of the assaults and closeness in time made SEPTA police connect the two incidents. Investigators then used videos from stations to track Grier’s whereabouts and positively identify him.