Man Charged In Stabbing Incident On CT Transit Bus: Stamford Police

STAMFORD, CT — A 29-year-old man has been charged in connection with a November stabbing on a CT Transit bus that left another man seriously injured, according to the Stamford Police Department.

Olajuwon Raheem Clarke, who is homeless, was arrested by New York law enforcement authorities in Brooklyn on Dec. 5 and held on Rikers Island as a fugitive from justice, police said in a news release Wednesday.

He was turned over to Stamford investigators on Dec. 19 and is being held on a $250,000 bond. An arrest warrant charges Clarke with first-degree assault, breach of peace and possession of a dangerous instrument, police said.

On Nov. 20 at approximately 1:29 p.m., officers responded to a bus stop in the 1900 block of West Main Street in Stamford on a report of a man who was stabbed in the chest on a CT Transit bus.

Witnesses told police that a CT Transit bus was stopped and a man, later identified as Clarke, boarded and started arguing with a passenger, police said.

The argument turned physical, and Clarke pulled out an unknown object from his coat pocket, stabbed the passenger in the chest, and fled the area, police said.

The victim, a 25-year-old man, was treated by Stamford EMS and taken to Stamford Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery, police said. He spent several days in the Intensive Care Unit and is still recovering from his injuries, police noted.

"The Stamford Police Department would like to commend the Stamford EMS and Stamford Hospital staff whose rapid and specialized care undoubtedly saved this victim’s life," police added in a news release.

Clarke, who was known to police from prior incidents, was identified by the SPD's Major Crimes Unit, the SPD said.