The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

The student newspaper of Bucks County Community College

The Centurion

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Surviving a serial killer

Surviving+a+serial+killer

As Joe Lozito boarded a New York City subway, he didn’t realize that he would be attacked by a serial killer. Now almost two years later, he reveals how he is doing and how his life has changed since the incident.

For many, Joseph Lozito is just your average loving husband and father, but to some he is a hero after being attacked on the New York City subway by serial killer, Maksim Gelman on Feb.12, 2011.

The attack happened early that Saturday morning as Lozito hopped onto the subway to head to work.

“When I arrived at New York Penn Station, there were postings that track work was being done on the tracks of the train I normally take,” said Lozito. “Basically, the one train would now mimic the route of the express two and three trains.”

“I went on the platform for the two and three trains, since double the trains stop on that track, I figured I’d get to work quicker. That was probably the third or fourth time that had happened and I wouldn’t ever go to the other platform,” he said. “That was the first and the last time I’d do that.”

When boarding the train, he noticed that there were two police officers also aboard and he started to become suspicious.

Working in New York at the Lincoln Center, but living in Philadelphia at the time of the incident, Lozito had no idea of what happened in New York the previous night.

ABC News reported that “What Gelman had done, according to police, was kill four people and leave four others badly injured.”

His face had been splashed all over the news in New York, but Lozito, being a Philadelphian, had no idea.

“When he boarded Lozito’s subway car, he pounded on the conductor’s door, demanding to be let in.” ABC News reported.

“I didn’t know what he had done, but he was definitely someone I was hoping everyone was keeping an eye on,” Lozito told ABC News, “I kept an eye on him and it looked like everyone else was watching him too.”

When denied access to the conductor’s quarters, Gelman attacked before police reached him.

“Basically, he was about two or three feet away from me. He took out a giant knife and just looked at me and said, “You’re going to die, you’re going to die,’ and then he lunged at me,” Lozito told ABC News

Lozito was stabbed several times by the cooking knife in the back of the head, face, left hand and arm before taking down Gelman with a moved called a “single-leg”, a move that he learned watching the UFC.

“I’m a rabid fan of all MMA.” Lozito said

After taking down the serial killer, police soon took action to help Lozito and finally arrest Gelman.

It has been a little over year and a half since the incident and Lozito goes on to live a normal life with his wife and two sons.

He now resides in Long Island, NY and is still working at the Lincoln Center in NYC.

The Centurion met up with Lozito to catch up:

Q: In multiple interviews, you said that that there were police aboard the train. Did they do anything before Gelman got on the train or while you were fighting him?

A: One officer started to come out before the attack, but testified that he thought Gelman had a gun, so he closed the door and stayed inside.

Everyone is lucky he didn’t have a gun, or multiple people would have died because of the police’s hesitation to act on a man they were on the train to apprehend. The police only acted after I took Gelman down and disarmed him.

Q: How long did it take you to return back to work?

A: I don’t remember how much time I missed, but it was probably around 3-4 weeks.

Q: Did you continue to take the same commute to work after the attack?

A: I did, until a little over a year ago when I relocated back home to Long Island.

Q: Were you scared to ride the subway? And if so, are you still scared?

A: I was never scared to ride the subway, even after the incident. I ride the subway twice a day, five times a week and see hundreds of people. One idiot with a knife having a bad day isn’t going to change that.

Q: How old were your kids at the time of the incident? Do they know what happened?

A: My sons were 10 & 8 respectively at the time and they absolutely know the full story.

Q: Are you still really into the UFC? Do you actually train for the UFC or are you just a fan?

A: I recently started taking private kickboxing lessons at Bellmore Kickboxing & MMA under the tutelage of the best striking coach around, the great Keith Trimble. I wish I had started earlier.

Q: Is everything back to normal? Are you mentally and physically better?

A: Mentally it is a process and it is something I monitor on a daily basis.

And physically? Well, the scars have healed for the most part, but they will never go away. I still don’t have full use of my left thumb and I probably never will. I get headaches frequently as well.

Q: You were honored at such events like a Flyers game. How was that? What did they do for you and your family?

A: The Flyers and Eagles are first class organizations. The Flyers made up a jersey with my name and the number 18 on it and had the great Bob “Hound” Kelly present it to me during a stoppage in play. After the game, they had us down in the locker room which was a thrill, especially for my son Joey who bleeds orange and black.

Q: You also met Dana White, president of the UFC. He offered you to sit with him at his table at a fight. How was it meeting him?

A: Dana White & the UFC as a whole are amazing! We did watch UFC 128 in Newark cage side with Dana and it was a moment of a lifetime! It’s something you can’t imagine. The whole weekend was simply amazing and I will be forever grateful.

Q: What ever happened to Maksim Gelman?

A: That sorry sack of shit will now rot in jail on the dime of New York taxpayers until the day he takes his final breath, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. He received 200 years for the four murders and an additional 25 years for his attempted murder of me.

Q: When one hears about your story and your bravery, what is the message you want people to get?

A: The message would be that anyone can do what I did. We all have courage and we should never let anyone try to bully us or get the better of us. Nobody has a right to put their hands on you. Most bullies don’t like being stood up to, so stand up for yourself, for your family, and for your friends.

I especially want to get that message across to children. No matter how old you are, no matter how big or small you are, stand up for yourself and don’t tolerate being bullied.

The other message is, be alert in public places. They are like breeding grounds for scum like Gelman and endless criminals looking to take shortcuts at the expense of the innocent.