Police have released photos of the suspect who allegedly stabbed a Brooklyn bouncer to death on Feb. 10 while he was attempting to aid a female colleague.
According to the investigation, 61-year-old Laurence Hopkins was working his Saturday night shift at Garden Bar and Grill, located at 140 Graham Ave. in Williamsburg.
According to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, a female employee of the bar was then making her way through the establishment, and trying to squeeze by patrons at about 1 a.m. — when two men, apparently intentionally, blocked her path.
This reportedly escalated from a shouting match into a shoving match, prompting Lawrence to get involved.
“He gets up to help out this woman employee and while he’s trying to calm the situation down, we have numerous witness statements saying that he’s telling everybody to ‘Relax, just chill out.’ One of the males breaks free and stabs him in the neck unprovoked from the side,” Kenny said. “Poor guy never saw it coming.”
By the time officers arrived, Hopkins had been stabbed several times across his body — most severely in his neck, which was such a deep laceration that it cut through his tongue.
He also suffered a four-and-a-half-inch deep cut under his right armpit and a stab wound in his chest.
Co-workers attempted to save Hopkins’ life by trying to stop the bleeding until paramedics arrived. However, he died a short time later at NYC Health and Hospitals/Woodhull.
Police reportedly recovered the murder weapon at the scene, and released photos taken from security footage showing the individual believed to be responsible.
So far in 2024, one homicide has been reported in the 90th Precinct, where Hopkins was killed, according to the latest NYPD stats. Borough-wide, Brooklyn has seen 12 homicides during that time.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website, on Twitter @NYPDTips.
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