Police hunt man on Citi Bike stabbing homeless people across New York
Authorities reported that they believe one person is behind three recent attacks on unhoused people found sleeping on benches in the city
The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US
The man behind a fatal stabbing of a homeless man in New York City last week is suspected to be responsible for two other stabbing incidents involving unhoused people, authorities said.
On 5 July, a 34-year-old unhoused man sleeping on a bench in the Hudson River Greenway Park on the city’s west side was stabbed in the stomach by a man. The victim, who has not been identified, clung to his bleeding wound as he ran through the park searching for help until he later collapsed and died about seven blocks from where the assault took place, an employee for the park told The Daily News.
In that incident, police managed to collect surveillance footage from the park that showed the suspect fleeing the scene on a Citi Bike and dressed in all black with an “Innocence Project” sweatshirt, the New York Police Department said.
Since that initial fatal attack, the NYPD reports that there have been two similar attacks carried out in the city. Authorities believe the suspect responsible for the 5 July attack was also behind the other incidents.
On 8 July, just three days after the first deadly stabbing, a 59-year-old man who was laying down on a bench one block east of Rockefeller Center in Midtown was stabbed in the stomach at approximately 10pm. The victim, according to PIX11, was taken to hospital and was said to be in stable condition after the surprise attack.
In the most recent attack on Monday, a 28-year-old man was also stabbed in the abdomen while he was resting at a playground in the city’s Upper East Side, police said. He was in stable condition after being taken to hospital, PIX 11 said.
The NYPD said that all three men who were attacked were unhoused and they believe that the man who they found surveillance footage of at the scene of the first crime to be connected to all three attacks.
Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward to the NYPD or to submit anonymous tips through Crime Stoppers.