A knife-wielding assailant killed two men and a woman during an hourslong, seemingly “unprovoked” stabbing spree through the streets of New York City on Monday, authorities said.
The two slain men — attacked near 444 W. 19th St. at 8:22 a.m. ET and then by 500 E. 30th St. at 10:27 a.m. — were taken to Bellevue Hospital, where they were pronounced dead, officials said.
Then a woman was stabbed in the shadow of the United Nations, near East 42nd Street and First Avenue, at 10:55 a.m., leaving her in critical condition. A New York City police spokesperson said Monday night that the woman died.
A “person of interest” was captured a short time later at 46th Street and First Avenue, said police, who are not searching for anyone else in connection with the stabbings.
Ramon Rivera, 51, was identified by two New York City officials as the person responsible for the deadly stabbing spree. City records show he has an extensive criminal history, the officials said.
Rivera has had eight arrests in New York City in the past year, which include seven felonies and one misdemeanor, according to the officials. The charges include attempted assault on a police officer, five burglary counts and one grand larceny count, they said.
The added that Rivera has a documented history of mental health concerns and that public records indicate he has had arrests or has been known to law enforcement in three other states.
It was not immediately clear Monday night if Rivera had retained an attorney. A representative with the New York County Defender Services, which provides public defenders to some suspects, said it was not clear if the office would represent Rivera since he has not been arraigned.
“As of right now, these attacks seem to be unprovoked, that he just walked up to them and began to attack them with the knives,” NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters.
Police described the suspect, whom they did not name, as a homeless man with a recent arrest record.
“We are still looking over his record, but there’s a real question on why he was out on the street,” Mayor Eric Adams said.
“He was sentenced a few months ago, and there’s a real question that we need to look at on why he was out on the streets, and he has some severe mental health issues that should have been examined,” Adams said.
An officer caught up with the alleged assailant after a taxi driver saw the woman being attacked, officials said, believing he was witnessing a robbery, and called police.
Moments before his arrest, the man was nonchalantly walking with a woman’s purse, witness Baha Biten said. The bystander could see a commotion of security personnel in suits and earpieces, scrambling and focusing on the man.
“You could tell that purse doesn’t belong to him,” Biten, an electrical engineer from upstate Schoharie, told reporters.
“I told him, ‘Drop the bag, there’s going to be cops up ahead, drop the bag, it’s not worth it.’ Of course he didn’t listen. He kept walking and then the police got him.”
Another bystander, Michael Ayalew, who works at a nearby loading dock, saw a driver following the man and frantically trying flag down anyone who could help.
“He started yelling, ‘Stop that guy, stop that guy!'” Ayalew told reporters.
When authorities confronted the man near the Turkish Consulate, there was no struggle, Ayalew said.
“He went on his stomach and then they opened the bag,” Ayalew said. “And as soon as they opened the bag and they dumped it upside down, a mask came out and two really big knives. One of them, like I said, looked like it had blood on it.”
The victims were not immediately identified pending notification of their families.
The first man killed, who was 36 years old, was attacked at a construction site where he was working, police said.
The second victim, who was 68 years old, was fishing at the end of 30th Street when he was attacked, authorities said.
“I want to thank the everyday New Yorker who notified Officer Garvey and told him what he observed,” Adams said, referring to Robert Garvey, the arresting officer.
“When he saw the assault, he followed the individual involved and gave the information to Officer Garvey, who took quick action and was able to apprehend the person who we believe is a suspect,” he said.
Violent crime is a major topic in both New York and national politics, though actual incidents of such felonies appear to be declining.
There had been 326 murders in New York City this year through Nov. 10, a slight drop from the same time last year and a major decline from homicides committed in the five boroughs two, 14 and 31 years ago, according to NYPD crime statistics.
