Suspect in Oakland BART station double stabbing arrested

OAKLAND - A homeless man suspected in a double stabbing that briefly shut down a San Francisco Bay Area subway station last week was arrested Tuesday, authorities said.

Officials with Bay Area Rapid Transit said that Solomon Espinosa, 27, was apprehended four days after he slashed two men at an Oakland station.

BART is under heavy scrutiny after the July 22 stabbing death of Nia Wilson, 18, by a parolee at MacArthur Station, which is the same subway station Espinosa fled after allegedly attacking the two men.

One victim was treated for a cut to his arm and the other for a cut to the face.

BART officials say cameras recorded the incident. They have not disclosed the circumstances leading to the altercation. U.S. marshals arrested Espinosa in Oakland.

John Cowell, who is 27, has been charged with murder in Wilson's death.

The unprovoked attack on Wilson and her sister, who was hurt, drew international attention. Prosecutors say they are probing whether he was motivated by racial hate. Cowell is white, and the sisters are black.

Wilson was one of three people who died recently after violent encounters on BART property.

A homeless man died of head injuries after he was punched on a subway platform July 21. Also in July, a man died from an infection of a knee wound he sustained after getting into a fight on a train.

BART officials have announced new safety measures.