A Bronx man stabbed dead with his own knife on board a subway train on Saturday had been fatally attacked after getting into a stare-down with the alleged killer, law enforcement sources said.
The incident unfolded at around 3:21 a.m. on Aug. 24 as two men were riding a Wakefield-bound 2 train through the South Bronx approaching the East 149th Street station.
Police source said Shane Cunnison, 37, of Brooklyn and 33-year-old Nigel Dumas of the Bronx rode in separate train cars when they made eye contact through the car window.
Sources with immediate knowledge of the situation report that the pair engaged in a glaring contest that ended when Dumas allegedly entered the opposing car when the train stopped at the East 149 Street station and confronted Cunnison.
Demanding to know if Cunnison was affiliated with a gang while also claiming to be a gang member himself, law enforcement sources said, Dumas purportedly brandished a knife — and a brawl between the two men quickly broke out.
The struggle culminated in Cunnison being stabbed in the torso with his own blade, cops said.
Officers from the 40th Precinct and NYPD Transit District 12 rushed to the train to find Dumas seriously wounded. EMS rushed him to Lincoln Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, police took Cunnison into custody. Following questioning, he was booked on a charge of first-degree manslaughter. Citing police sources, the New York Post reported that Cunnison has nine prior arrests, including for an attempted rape in Brooklyn back in 2009.
