Man sentenced to 25 years to life for hammer attack on Queens subway commuter

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QUEENS, NY — A Manhattan man was sentenced Thursday to 25 years to life in prison for a violent, unprovoked hammer attack on a woman entering the Queens Plaza subway station in 2022, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced.

William Blount, 61, was convicted in April of two counts of first-degree assault, two counts of first-degree robbery, and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was acquitted of attempted murder charges.

“This was an unprovoked attack that caught the attention of the entire country,” District Attorney Katz said in a statement. “The defendant then repeatedly struck her in the head with a hammer and stole the woman’s tote bag.”

The assault occurred around 11:20 p.m. on February 24, 2022. According to trial testimony,…