Police arrested the man on Thursday who allegedly pepper-sprayed a mother and her baby on a Queens train after she refused to let him use her cell phone.
The NYPD Warrant Squad apprehended 34-year-old Edward Vargas on June 26 for the disturbing assault on a young mother and her child six days earlier, police sources reported.
Authorities said Vargas approached the 25-year-old victim and her 11-month-old daughter at about 11 a.m. on June 20 while she was on the platform of the 36th Street station on the M line in Queens when he asked to use her cell phone. The victim declined, police said, and the family boarded a southbound M train. Vargas allegedly boarded as well and continued to ask passengers to use their phones, police reported.
Moments later, cops said, Vargas allegedly sat on a seat opposite the pair before suddenly spraying them both in the face with pepper spray.
The substance affected their eyes and left them in serious pain as Vargas fled the scene.
Both victims were rushed to Mount Sinai Queens with redness to their eyes and faces.
Vargas is no stranger to the NYPD, law enforcement sources said; he was previously arrested in 2023 for displaying a firearm and threatening to shoot a woman inside of her home. In that case, he was charged with menacing.
Detectives marched Vargas out of Transit District 20 at Briarwood train station on Thursday afternoon, where amNewYork asked why he attacked both the mother and her child. He did not respond verbally, but shook his head in silence.
Vargas is charged with two counts of assault.
