Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Kensington Anti‑Violence Founder Charged in SEPTA Box‑Cutter Attack

The Pennsylvania attorney general’s special mass‑transit prosecutor will handle the case while the alleged victim remains seriously injured.

Overview

  • Rosalind Pichardo was charged on July 23 with two counts of aggravated assault and several related offenses for an attack prosecutors say happened on a Market–Frankford Line train.
  • Investigators say the dispute began on the 15th Street station platform and continued aboard an eastbound train near 8th and Market, with prosecutors alleging Pichardo used a box cutter.
  • The victim suffered deep lacerations to her face and chest that required surgery and more than 70 stitches and was reported in critical condition.
  • SEPTA transit police initially detained Pichardo the night of the incident and she was released the same evening before later posting 10% of a $25,000 bail to leave custody.
  • Pichardo runs Operation Save Our City and Sunshine House, groups that recently received city and district attorney microgrants, raising questions about oversight as the AG prosecutes the case.