A suspect is in custody after a string of stabbing attacks in midtown Manhattan this morning that left two people dead and one in critical condition. According to chief of detectives Joe Kenny, the attacker stabbed random victims across a few different Manhattan neighborhoods before being apprehended.
The first victim was on West 19th Street in front of a construction site, where he was apparently working, when he was stabbed in the abdomen at 8:22 this morning by the attacker, succumbing to his wounds at Bellevue hospital shortly thereafter. The second victim was attacked on East 30th street in front of the Water Club, where he was fishing, at 10:27. He was also pronounced dead at Bellevue hospital later on. The final victim was attacked at on East 42nd Street and 1st Ave, a short distance from the United Nations, and is currently in critical condition at Cornell Medical.
In a press briefing this afternoon, Kenny stated that there were no apparent interactions between the suspect and the victims before the attacks, and that he “just walked up to them and began to attack them with the knives.” At the same briefing, Mayor Adams told reporters that authorities “are not looking for any additional suspects at this time.” The mayor went on to credit a bystander, telling reporters that “when he saw the assault, he followed the individual involved and gave the information to Officer Garvey,” who then apprehended the suspect. Police commissioner Tom Donlon also credited members of the public “who jumped into action to help their fellow New Yorkers.”
“I just heard a commotion from where I was,” said officer Robert Garvey. “[I] stepped outside, heart what people were saying, and reacted.”
The suspect is a 51-year-old male who had 8 prior arrests on his record, the last one being for grand larceny last year. “There’s a real question on why he was on the street,” the mayor said. Adams also called the attack an indictment on the criminal justice and mental health systems that continue to “fail New Yorkers.” This stands in contrast with the mayor’s consistent messaging over the past months in various forums, where he has stated that New York City is “the safest big city in America.”
