Meat cleaver attack on SEPTA bus leaves passengers injured and suspect in custody

PHILADELPHIA – There were wild scenes aboard a SEPTA bus early Thursday morning when a man was slashed with a meat cleaver right in front of Philadelphia police headquarters.

It all started when two men, both 45, got into a fight on the bus near Broad Street and Callowhill Street around 2:30 a.m

The situation quickly escalated when, according to police, one of the men produced a meat cleaver and began attacking the other.

The victim lost a lot of blood due to cuts to his hand and head, but his condition is said to have stabilized at a local hospital.

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The suspected attacker was taken into custody and is being treated for a cut to his head.

Police say he faces assault charges and a psychiatric evaluation.

“According to other passengers on the bus, the person with the meat cleaver began chanting and saying some things and may have had mental health issues because he wasn’t making any sense and for unknown reasons began hitting the 45-year-old passenger,” said Scott Small, Chief Inspector of the Philadelphia Police Department.

The meat cleaver was recovered by police, who were able to intervene immediately when the bus stopped right in front of their headquarters.

“There are uses for a meat cleaver, usually for cutting meat for use in a kitchen or butcher shop. Why that person on the SEPTA bus had to be smart, we don’t know,” Small said.