Four people were hospitalized and four others treated at the scene after someone released bear spray inside a subway car in Manhattan on Sunday night.
The incident happened just after 9:30 p.m. on a southbound No. 4 train at the 14th Street–Union Square subway station.
Officers arrived to find eight people affected by a substance that had been sprayed inside the subway car, according to the New York City Police Department.
Four people were transported to Lenox Hill Hospital, police said. They are in stable condition. Four others were treated at the scene.
Police are searching for a suspect described as a man in his 30s wearing a camouflage ski mask, NBC4 reported.
Witnesses told police the man fled upstairs and out of the station after spraying the irritant, which police reportedly told the local outlet was bear spray.
Video shared on the Citizen app showed a heavy police presence at the scene. Subway service was briefly disrupted as emergency crews responded to the incident.
No arrests have been made and the investigation remains ongoing, police said.
The incident comes just over a month after six people were hurt in June when someone used bear spray inside Washington Square Park, CBS News reported. That person was taken into custody.
