NEW YORK — A machete-wielding man screaming he was “Lucifer” was shot dead by cops after he savagely slashed three elderly subway commuters in a terrifying, unprovoked attack in Grand Central Station in Midtown Saturday, police said.

Holding his weapon firmly in his hand, Anthony Griffin, 44, refused to drop his massive blade after two NYPD Transit detectives confronted him on the uptown 4/5/6 platform inside Grand Central Station on East 42nd Street near Park Avenue around 9:40 a.m., Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said.

The detectives ordered him 20 times to drop his weapon, but he refused, Tisch said, briefing the press after the shooting. When that didn’t work, the detectives tried to defuse the situation by offering to help him if he dropped the menacing blade.

In the end, Griffin “advanced to the officers with his knife extended,” Tisch said. “Officers fired, striking the perpetrator twice and immediately began using life saving measures.”

Griffin died of his wounds at Bellevue Hospital.

Police said Griffin entered the transit system at the Vernon Boulevard station in Queens around 9:30 a.m. and took the No. 7 train to Grand Central Station. Once he got off the train, he immediately pulled out his machete and lunged at an 84-year-old man on the No. 7 platform, leaving him with significant slash wounds to his head and face.

Griffin then moved upstairs to the Nos. 4/5/6 platform, where he attacked a 65-year-old man and a 70-year-old woman. The man suffered slash wounds to the face and an “open skull fracture” and the woman was hacked in the shoulder, cops said.

Griffin apparently didn’t know his three victims, who were targeted at random, NYPD Chief of Transit Joseph Gulotta said Saturday.

The two detectives, who were working an overtime detail, were on the mezzanine level when they were alerted by a witness, who told them what was happening.

As the Transit officers descended down to the 4/5/6 platform, one of Griffin’s victims came staggering up the stairs, seeking medial attention, Tisch said.

As soon as the two cops got down the stairs, they found Griffin, police said.

The harrowing confrontation was caught on the cops’ body-worn cameras, including when Griffin kept yelling, “I’m Lucifer!” to police when they told him to drop his weapon.

“Our officers were confronted by an armed individual who already injured multiple people and was continuing to pose a threat,” Tisch said. “They gave clear commands and they attempted to deescalate the situation. And when that threat did not stop, they took the decisive action to stop the threat and to protect New Yorkers at one of the busiest train platforms in the city.”

Griffin’s machete was recovered at the scene.

“Reports indicate a man slashed three people on the platform with a machete,” Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on X Saturday after being briefed about the situation. “Officers shot the man when he did not drop the machete. He has since been pronounced dead.”

“I’m grateful to the NYPD for their quick response and for preventing additional violence,” Mamdani said. “The three victims were taken to the hospital and are thankfully in stable condition.”

An internal investigation by the NYPD Force Investigation Division was underway, Mamdani said.

“The NYPD is conducting an internal investigation and will release body-worn camera footage, as it does in all incidents involving the discharge of an officer’s firearm,” he said.

Police said that Griffin, who has a tattoo of the word “Outlaw” on his arm, has been arrested 13 times. He has no history of mental illness with the department.

“I’ve been briefed on the horrific incident at Grand Central this morning,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X. “Innocent people were attacked in a senseless act of violence. I’m grateful to our brave officers who acted quickly to stop the suspect. We’re working closely with the NYPD as the investigation unfolds.”

The city’s Office of Emergency Management put out a notice on X, warning residents and visitors to “avoid the area” of E. 42nd St. and Depew Place.”

“Police Activity: Expect traffic delays, road closures, mass transit disruptions & emergency personnel,” the alert read.

All Nos. 4/5/6/7 trains were rerouted around Grand Central station for several hours as the investigation into the shooting continued.

The NYPD was working with the MTA to reopen a few of the lines Saturday afternoon, Gulotta said.

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