De La Rosa Leads Inwood Vigil For Lives Lost In A Train Stabbings

INWOOD, NY — Manhattan politicians flooded to the A train station at 207th Street in Inwood on Monday morning to take part in a vigil for the lives lost during the recent subway attacks.

Assembly Member and City Council candidate Carmen De La Rosa, in collaboration with several Upper Manhattan organizations, led a vigil outside the station where only days before 44-year-old Claudine Roberts was found dead with stab wounds.

For those who haven't been keeping up with the story, a suspect named Rigoberto Lopez was arrested Friday night in connection to the murder of two people riding the A train earlier in the day, and the attempted murder of two others. Three of the four attacks took place in Upper Manhattan stations.

Lopez has confessed to the killings, according to police.

De La Rosa was joined at the Monday morning vigil by fellow elected officials, Rep. Adriano Espaillat, NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, Public Advocate Juumane Williams, NYS Senator Robert Jackson, Assembly Member Al Taylor, and Council Member Mark Levine.

Representatives from the Uptown Collective, Altagracia Faith and Justice Works, Uptown Wagon, Dyckman's Diary, and the Washington Heights Corner Project were also in attendance.

"We mourn for the lives lost and understand that their deaths could have been prevented. It breaks my heart to know that they were targeted because they were experiencing homelessness," De La Rosa said during the vigil. "Their plight was not invisible to us and in this spirit, we commit to dismantling a system that does not protect the most vulnerable by providing adequate housing and wrap around mental health services.”

On Sunday, Lopez was identified as a 21-year-old homeless man who had previously been arrested four times. Additionally, both victims who died were homeless.

"This heinous violence is unacceptable in our transit system or anywhere in our city. Our community is coming together in solidarity with the families and loved ones of the victims and with all those experiencing homelessness," Stringer said. "The status quo is failing New Yorkers in crisis. We stand together to mourn these tragedies and to pledge to fight for real solutions to these crises."

Williams, the Public Advocate, said "violence like this must still shock us — and move us to act to prevent future loss."

Read More: Homeless Man Arrested In Subway Stabbings That Left 2 Dead, 2 Wounded