New York elected officials are condemning the unknown perpetrators who stabbed a migrant teen to death and left another hospitalized Thursday night following an attack in Lower Manhattan.
According to police sources, 17-year-old Yeremi Colino and an 18-year-old teen were walking in the Financial District outside of 17 John St. when they were approached by three men and asked if they spoke English. When they said they didn’t, authorities said, the suspects went on the attack — stabbing Colino, who stayed at the Roe Hotel in Midtown, in the torso and the 18-year-old in the left arm.
Officers from the 1st Precinct responded to the incident. EMS rushed both victims to Bellevue Hospital, where Colino was pronounced dead. The 18-year-old victim is expected to survive.
Sharing the amNewYork Metro story on the social media app Threads, U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-Brooklyn/Manhattan) condemned the incident as racist and called for the perpetrators to be prosecuted.
“Two migrant teenagers were stabbed in our city because they didn’t speak English. I condemn this racist, xenophobic hatred in the strongest terms – it has no place in our city and must be rejected. These suspects must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Goldman wrote.
Police believe the killers were three men in their early 20s; one man was dressed in a green jacket, white pants, and white sneakers. Another wore red pants, red hooded sweatshirt, with a black jacket and blue and white sneakers while carrying a black backpack; while the third red hooded sweatshirt, black jacket and blue and white sneakers. The group was last seen fleeing westbound toward Broadway.
U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-Bronx) also joined the outrage, sharing the original amNewYork Metro article on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“[T]hree violent criminals approached two migrants, asking them about their fluency in English before savagely stabbing one of them to death and seriously wounding the other,” Torres wrote. “All New Yorkers must be equally protected from violent crime regardless of income and immigration status. Public safety is not a privilege but a right.”
An eyewitness saw the attack unfold, telling amNewYork Metro that it left him shaken.
“I saw it like 20 seconds after it happened,” said one witness, 23-year-old Javier Pau. “I’m pretty sure they were stabbing and walking, like on the way here, and then next thing I know, I saw the kid and he was covered in blood.”
Police sources say the perpetrators remain at large.
Anyone with information about the deadly stabbing to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial 888-57-PISTA). You can also submit tips online at crimestoppers.nypdonline.org, or on X (formerly Twitter) @NYPDTips. All calls and messages are kept confidential.