Smiling attacker whacks NYC subway rider with gardening tool, police say

Police are looking for a man accused of attacking a subway rider with a gardening tool during the evening rush in lower Manhattan.

The suspect allegedly struck a 49-year-old man in the hand and legs with the large tool while both were aboard a northbound A/C train near Fulton Street and Nassau Street at about 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 9, according to the NYPD.

The victim sustained minor injuries but declined medical treatment at the scene, police said.

Photos released by investigators show the suspect smiling on the train while holding what appears to be a large gardening tool with a wooden handle before he fled, authorities said.

Police described the suspect as a man with a dark complexion, about 30 years old, 6 feet tall, with an athletic build, short black hair and brown eyes.

He was last seen wearing a black tank top, black pants, a blue baseball cap and a silver necklace.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or, for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).