On Saturday morning, surveillance footage captured a horrific attack where 66-year-old Margaret Swan was stabbed approximately 18 times on an Atlanta MARTA train. John Elijah Matthews, 25, approached the woman sitting alone in car 134 at around 11:25 a.m., pulled a knife from his pocket, cut her throat and repeatedly stabbed her before leaving her dead.

Swan screamed for help as she bled to death on the train floor. Despite her cries, no passengers intervened or attempted assistance. Matthews was arrested by MARTA police at 11:28 a.m. with the knife still in his hand.

The victim, who had lived in Atlanta for over 50 years and worked in daycares before retiring, left behind three children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Her daughter Sams described her mother as “the foundation of her family” and said she was gentle and would not hurt anyone.

Family members stated that Swan could not defend herself during the attack because it unfolded so quickly. They expressed shock at the lack of assistance from fellow passengers and criticized the absence of security on MARTA trains, saying, “Everybody watched it and nobody helped her.”

MARTA officials confirmed they employ 280 sworn officers to protect riders but acknowledged Swan’s death as a senseless tragedy. The victim died at the scene and was pronounced deceased by the Fulton County Medical Examiner. This incident marks the second fatal stabbing connected to Oakland City MARTA station since late April.