Two good Samaritans are being credited with putting an end to an "unprovoked" stabbing attack that left two siblings injured at the Coliseum BART Station Saturday afternoon, according to the transportation agency.
One of the citizens grabbed the knife from 32-year-old suspect Robert Dolph and the other helped hold him down after he stabbed a woman in her 60s and her brother in his 50s, according to BART.
The female victim is listed in fair condition while the male victim is said to be in critical but stable condition, according to BART.
BART Deputy Police Chief Lance Haight says the fearless reaction by another rider may have saved the two victims' lives.
"In a courageous and selfless act, he intervened and grabbed the knife from the suspect, and in the process his hands were cut," Haight said. "But he was still able to get the knife away from the suspect, and he was able to tackle the suspect to the ground."
The sibling victims initially hopped on a train at the South San Francisco Station. Dolph later boarded the train at the Civic Center Station in San Francisco and was said to be "acting erratically with verbal outbursts," according to BART.
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As the siblings left the train when they arrived at the Coliseum Station, Dolph followed them to the fare gate area, according to BART. That's when he pulled out a knife and started stabbing the victims.
One of the good Samaritans who jumped into action managed to grab the knife from Dolph and hold him until officers arrived at the scene, according to BART. The other good Samaritan also assisted in holding Dolph down as he was taken into custody.
"The swift response by the station agent and police as well as the intervention by the good [Samaritans] were all critical to ending the attack and apprehending the suspect," according to a statement released by BART.
Dolph, who later admitted to being involved in the attack, has been arrested on attempted murder charges, according to BART. He has since been booked into the Santa Rita Jail in Dublin.
The Coliseum BART Station was closed for roughly two hours while authorities conducted an investigation.
