A 71-year-old grandmother sitting by herself on a subway car in Lower Manhattan. A 30-year-old man walking down a street in the East Village, listening to music and enjoying a leisurely Saturday afternoon. A 24-year-old woman heading to her job at Whole Foods in Chelsea. All strangers. All slashed by men wielding knives or razors. At least nine other men and women have been similarly attacked in recent months in a rash of slashings that has put many New Yorkers on edge. Crime — even in this gentler New York City — is a part of life. But a crime with no discernible motive besides rage and no particular pattern beside absolute randomness causes a particular kind of dread in a city where...
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