A man sleeping on a Queens subway early Sunday stabbed two thieves who tried to take his bags, killing one of them, sources familiar with the incident said.
The bloody scene unfolded about 12:30 p.m. in two train cars of the No. 7 train to Manhattan.
The alleged perpetrator, a 69-year-old man, was dozing on the train, surrounded by his bags, when a group of five men approached him, sources said.
The group began taking the man’s bags as the train reached 61st St. and Woodside Ave. station in Woodside was approaching, sources said. At that point, the man woke up and tried to get his bags back, the sources said.
That led to a struggle, during which the man pulled a knife and stabbed two members of the group, the sources said. A 32-year-old man was stabbed in the chest and another man was cut in the face. The entire scene was captured on subway surveillance cameras, the sources said.
Medics took both to Elmhurst Hospital, but the man who was stabbed in the chest could not be saved, police said.
Police have taken the perpetrator into custody, although prosecutors will have to determine what charges he will face and whether he acted in self-defense, sources said.
The other three thieves ran away and were taken into custody about two blocks away, the sources said.
Police have not yet released the name of the deceased.
