July 1, 2025 By Bill Parry
A Ravenswood Houses man was arrested by the NYPD Warrant Squad on June 26 and booked at the 107th Precinct in Fresh Meadows, where he was charged with assault for a pepper spray attack on a mother and baby on an M train in Long Island City.
Edward Vargas, 34, of 12th Street, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on the night of June 26 on a complaint charging him with assault in the second and third degrees, reckless endangerment, and endangering the welfare of a child for allegedly pepper-spraying a 25-year-old mother and her 11-month-old daughter on board a southbound M train approaching the Court Square subway station.
According to the charges, on Friday, June 20, at approximately 10:50 a.m., Vargas approached the mother on the southbound platform of the 36th Street M and R station and asked to use her cell phone to make a call. The woman ignored him. She boarded the next train with her baby, and Vargas followed, sitting across from them. He allegedly pulled out a pepper spray can from a black bag and sprayed her and the baby in their faces, causing a burning sensation to the woman’s eyes, difficulty breathing, and redness to her face, according to the criminal complaint. The baby started crying and had redness on her face and arms.