Two men and one woman in Manhattan, including a construction worker and a fisherman, were killed in three separate stabbings on Monday morning that police linked to a single suspect now in custody.
Cops said the bloodshed began in Chelsea, where the construction worker was fatally attacked outside the posh apartment building known as the Chelsea Club, located at 444 West 19th St., at around 8:22 a.m. on Nov. 18.
Officers from the 10th Precinct raced to the scene to discover a 36-year-old man collapsed suffering from a single stab wound to the stomach.
EMS rushed the victim to Bellevue Hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead. Police have not yet released his identity, pending family notification.
Law enforcement sources reported that the victim, a construction worker, was approached and violently stabbed by a 51-year-old, unhinged man.
Detectives sealed off the area and worked throughout the morning investigating the crime scene near the Chelsea Club, which lists available two-bedroom homes for sale at $1,950,000.
A bandage and bloody blanket could be seen left on the sidewalk.
Roughly two hours later, police sources said, another man, this time a 68-year-old fisherman, was stabbed near 500 East 30th St. in Kips Bay at about 10:30 a.m. on Nov. 18. The man died 30 minutes later of his injuries after being rushed to Bellevue Hospital.
A short time later, authorities said, a 36-year-old woman was also stabbed at the corner of 42nd Street and 1st Avenue — just steps away from the United Nations’ headquarters. The woman fought for her life at Cornell Hospital until she succumbed to her injures later that evening.
“What is wrong with New York?” eyewitness Baha Biten asked amNewYork Metro after seeing the last assault. “The guy has these two long knives with him!”
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, a cab driver spotted the knife-wielding suspect and flagged down Police Officer Robert Garvey, a 19-year NYPD veteran, who apprehended the stabbing suspect near the corner of 46th Street and 1st Avenue just before 11:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Kenny confirmed that two knives were found in his possession.
“Once he [Garvey] was alerted that this perpetrator was possibly involved in a crime, thinking that maybe it was a robbery, he detained him,” Chief Kenny said.
Police say they believe the suspect acted indiscriminately, stabbing his victims without saying a word then. While the perpetrator has not been officially charged, cops say the same individual has previously been arrested in several other states and was last arrested in New York in October for a robbery pattern.
“There are no other outstanding suspects,” interim Police Commissioner Tom Donlon said. “I also want to thank the members of the public who called 911, and who jumped into action to help their fellow New Yorkers.”
Charges are pending the results of the ongoing investigation, police said.
