Rider physically removes box cutter-wielding drunk man from New York subway

A repeat offender is back in custody after threatening people on the New York City subway. Diego Morales, 37, was arrested on Saturday after pulling a box-cutter on a good samaritan who told him to stop harassing a group of women. 

Jose Ceron, 50, confronted Morales over his behavior, and despite the fact that the visibly intoxicated man pulled a box-cutter, he managed to pull him out of the train onto the platform and hold him until police arrived. 

According to the New York Post, the incident took place around 2pm on the No. 1 Train. Morales and Ceron were both waiting at the 137th Street-City College station in Upper Manhattan, where the latter said the former was acting "belligerent and being a nuisance to himself." 

When they got on the train, Morales allegedly began pestering a group of women, shouting at them and even going so far as to grab one of them by the hair. 

At that point, Ceron stepped in and took it upon himself to ensure Morales didn't cause any more trouble for his fellow passengers. 

In an interview with the Post, Ceron said he told Morales in Spanish, "Don't do that. You don’t need to do that," then sat back down.  

"He stood up, pulled out a box cutter and pulled the blade all the way out and held it to my face and said, 'I'll cut you, I'll cut you right now'," Ceron continued. "I said, 'That’s fine you can cut me now. That's fine, but you're leaving the train right now." 

When the train got to 102 Street station, Ceron pulled Morales out the door and he "fell straight on his face." Police arrested him minutes later. 

As the Post reports, Morales has 16 prior arrests including for numerous weapons and theft-related offenses. In 2019, for example, he was nabbed for allegedly trying to assault a police officer with a wrench after being kicked out of a subway station over his behavior.