Suspect arrested in Bay Area rail slashings, authorities say

Solomon Espinosa, 27, was arrested in connection with the slashings of two passengers aboard a BART train, authorities said. (Bay Area Rapid Transit)

A suspect sought in connection with last week’s slashings of two men aboard a BART train in Oakland, Calif., has been arrested, authorities said Tuesday.

The suspect, identified as Solomon Espinosa, 27, was apprehended four days after the attack. One victim was treated for a cut to an arm, while the other suffered a cut to the face, authorities said.

The San Francisco Bay Area’s BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) system has been is under heavy scrutiny since the July 22 stabbing death of Nia Wilson, 18, at MacArthur Station, the same station from which authorities said Espinosa fled after attacking the two men aboard a Richmond-bound train.

Espinosa had managed to flee the station last Friday even though six BART police officers and three Oakland police officers were on duty there at the time, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

SUSPECT ID'D IN LATEST BAY AREA TRANSIT VIOLENCE; FUNERAL HELD FOR VICTIM OF SEPARATE ATTACK

BART officials said surveillance cameras recorded the attack. They have not disclosed the circumstances leading to the altercation. U.S. marshals arrested Espinosa in Oakland.

John Cowell, 27, has been charged with murder in the death of Wilson, whose funeral was held Friday, just hours before the two slashings occurred.

SUSPECT IN BART FATAL STABBING DESERVES DEATH PENALTY, PAST VICTIM SAYS

The unprovoked attack on Wilson and her sister, who was hurt, drew international attention. Prosecutors say they are probing whether he was motivated by racial hate. Cowell is white, and the sisters are black.

Wilson was one of three people who died recently after violent encounters on BART property.

A homeless man died of head injuries after he was punched on a subway platform July 21. Also in July, a man died from an infection of a knee wound he sustained after getting into a fight on a train.

BART officials have announced new safety measures.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.