MTA Conductor Punched 30 Times By Man At Fairfield Metro: Police

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Metro-North conductor was punched repeatedly in the face by a passenger Saturday in Fairfield, according to an MTA official.

The incident occurred about 11 p.m., when a conductor saw a man in a train car that was closed to the public and asked him to move to an open car, according to MTA Police Department spokesman Aaron Donovan.

The man refused and the conductor asked the engineer to contact MTA police to meet the train at an upcoming station in accordance with standard protocol, Donovan said. When the train was at the Fairfield Metro station, the man punched the conductor about 30 times in the face, according to Donovan. The conductor was taken to Bridgeport Hospital after suffering facial lacerations and eye swelling.

MTA police arrested 22-year-old Elijah Sampson, of Bridgeport, in connection with the attack, Donovan said. Sampson is charged with assault on a public transit employee, a felony, and is scheduled to be arraigned Monday, according to Donovan.

"This is a reprehensible attack on a Metro-North conductor who was simply doing her job," said Catherine Rinaldi, president of the MTA Metro-North Railroad, in a statement provided by Donovan. "The MTA Police made a rapid arrest and now the justice system must hold this individual responsible to the fullest extent of the law."

The train was delayed 37 minutes due to the incident.