A 36-year-old man was arrested Monday after allegedly stabbing a man in the neck as they victim was waiting for a train at the downtown Riverside Metrolink station Sunday.
The victim was hospitalized critical but stable condition following what investigators said was a random attack, said Riverside City Police officer Ryan Railsback.
One person was in custody early Monday in connection with the attack at about 8:15 a.m. Sunday at the Metrolink station in the 4000 block of Vine Street. He was identified by police as 36-year-old Demetreius Bonner, a homeless man found at a residence in the 12100 block of Graham Street in the Riverside County community of Moreno Valley.
The victim, believed to be in his late 60s or early 70s, was standing on the platform with one other person when they were confronted by the suspect, according to Railsback.
After a brief exchange, the suspect stabbed the man once in the neck with a knife, and ran north along the tracks, Railsback said.
The friend accompanying the man on the platform took him back to the car they had arrived in, where another friend had been waiting, and attempted to stanch the wound before paramedics arrived and took the man to a hospital.
Railsback said investigators don't believe the suspect and the victim knew each other.
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A bloodhound from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department was deployed to the station to aid with the manhunt, according to Railsback.
Two Metrolink trains with scheduled stops in downtown Riverside this morning. Trains 753 and 859 bypassed the station, and buses took them to their destination.
Two more trains coming from Union Station in Los Angeles with final stops in downtown Riverside would be routed to the other side of the platform and should not be affected by the investigation, said Railsback. Those trains are to arrive at 4:52 p.m. and 8:52 p.m.
The station will fully reopen by Monday, he said.
Metrolink said any passengers who took alternative transportation due to the disruption could be eligible for up to a $50 reimbursement, and could visit http://metrolinktrains.com/qsp for more information.
