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A knife-wielding homeless man went on a brutal and “unprovoked” stabbing spree in Manhattan on Monday morning, leaving two men dead and a woman critically injured.
The suspect, a 51-year-old man with a history of eight prior arrests and a resident of the Bellevue Men’s Shelter, was apprehended thanks to the quick-thinking actions of a good Samaritan cab driver.
According to the New York Post, police recovered two knives at the scene and believe the attacks were entirely random.
The rampage began around 8:20 a.m. on West 19th Street near Eighth Avenue, where the attacker targeted a 36-year-old Hispanic construction worker, stabbing him fatally in the stomach, Eyewitness News reported.
Despite efforts to save him, the victim succumbed to his injuries at Bellevue Hospital.
The chaos continued two hours later on East 30th Street near the FDR Drive. There, the killer stabbed a 68-year-old man fishing near the waterfront multiple times. The man also tragically lost his life at Bellevue Hospital.
Finally, the attacker struck again at 10:55 a.m. near the United Nations building at East 42nd Street and First Avenue, stabbing a 36-year-old woman in the chest. She was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where she remains in critical condition.
During a Monday afternoon press briefing, Mayor Eric Adams condemned the stabbings as a tragic failure of the city’s criminal justice and mental health systems.
“Today we have three innocent New Yorkers who’s going about their lives were the victims of a terrible, terrible assault,” Adams said.
“Two lost their lives, one is fighting for her life. It is a clear, clear example of the criminal justice system, mental health system that continues to fail New Yorkers. And it is troubling that we’re standing here today, in a day that brings a great level of difficulty and pain to the city. Three New Yorkers, unprovoked attacks, that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen.”
The suspect’s apprehension was made possible by a cab driver who witnessed the final attack. The driver followed the blood-covered assailant and alerted an NYPD officer, leading to the arrest at East 46th Street and First Avenue.
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