By Jeff Shuttleworth, BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE
A man in his 40s was fatally stabbed in a fight on a BART train in Hayward early Tuesday afternoon, transit agency Police Chief Ed Alvarez said.
Speaking at a news conference at BART’s South Hayward station at 4 p.m., Alvarez said the fight and stabbing occurred on a Warm Springs-bound train as it approached the South Hayward station at about 1 p.m. on Tuesday.
Alvarez said officers who responded to the stabbing at the South Hayward station found the victim suffering from stab wounds and a short time later he was pronounced dead.
Alvarez said officers were able to get a good description of the suspect, who’s also a man in his 40s, from witnesses and were able to arrest him on Tennyson Road about a block away from the station.
Alvarez said the victim’s death is “tragic” but said a homicide on a BART train “is a rare occurrence” and said he wants to assure passengers that “BART is safe.”
He said, “This was not a random event.”
However, Alvarez said he doesn’t yet know if the victim and suspect knew each other or why the fight started.
The South Hayward station has been closed since 1 p.m. and BART spokesman Chris Filippi said there’s no firm estimate about when it will reopen, although he said BART hopes it can be reopened “within the next few hours.”
Filippi said trains are single-tracking through the station without stopping, which he said has prompted “major delays” in the BART system.
BART officials said the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District bus system is providing mutual aid on bus No. 99 for service between Hayward, South Hayward and Union City.