Oakland police arrested a suspect in the stabbing attacks on 18-year-old Nia Wilson and her sister at the MacArthur Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Station on Sunday.
Police say John Lee Cowell, 27, approached and stabbed Wilson and her 26-year-old sister, Latihfa Wilson, moments after they exited a train at the MacAthur Station.
Cowell was taken into custody around 6:50 p.m. Monday at the Pleasant Hill BART Station. Surveillance video showed him stripping off his bloody shirt just after the knife attacks. Officials recovered the knife at a nearby construction site.
The two women did nothing to provoke Cowell who approached from behind and slit their throats with a knife.
Nia Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene. Her sister was transported to an area hospital where she is listed in stable condition.
Nia’s mother said her daughter had expressed concerns about the safety of the BART Stations.
“She was less than 100 pounds soaking wet. This man just came up and did all this to my baby,” an emotional Alicia Greyson told KPIX. “My baby didn’t deserve this. She hated BART. She was always saying, ‘Mama, I’m scared of BART.'”
