A violent stabbing spree occurred in Manhattan on Monday morning, resulting in the deaths of two men and leaving a woman critically injured. The suspect, a 51-year-old man residing at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter with eight prior arrests, was apprehended due to the swift actions of a cab driver.
The New York Post reported that police recovered two knives from the scene and believe the attacks were random. The first incident happened around 8:20 a.m. on West 19th Street near Eighth Avenue, where a 36-year-old Hispanic construction worker was fatally stabbed in the stomach. Despite efforts to save him, he died at Bellevue Hospital.
Two hours later, on East 30th Street near FDR Drive, a 68-year-old man fishing by the waterfront was repeatedly stabbed and also succumbed to his injuries at Bellevue Hospital. The third attack took place at 10:55 a.m., when a 36-year-old woman was stabbed in the chest near the United Nations building at East 42nd Street and First Avenue. She remains in critical condition at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.
Mayor Eric Adams addressed these incidents during an afternoon press briefing, describing them as "a tragic failure of the city’s criminal justice and mental health systems." He stated: “Today we have three innocent New Yorkers who’s going about their lives were the victims of a terrible, terrible assault.”
Adams further emphasized: “Two lost their lives, one is fighting for her life. It is a clear example of the criminal justice system, mental health system that continues to fail New Yorkers."
The arrest followed after a cab driver witnessed the final attack and alerted an NYPD officer by following the suspect covered in blood to East 46th Street and First Avenue.
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