Police: 29-Year-Old Man Slashed In Face While Jogging In Park In The Bronx
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork)-- A man was slashed in the face while going for an evening jog in Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx, police said.
Police said the 29-year-old victim was jogging in Van Cortlandt Park at the Putnam Trail around 7:15 p.m. on March 22 when two males approached him.
The first suspect distracted the victim while the second suspect slashed him in the face with an unknown object, according to police. The victim said he initially thought he was punched, but later realized he had been cut.
The men fled the park in an unknown direction following the attack, police said.
EMS responded to the incident and helped the man tend to the 2-inch gash on his face. He reportedly refused to be taken to the hospital.
Police late Monday were searching for the suspects.
The first suspect is described as an Hispanic male, 20 to 30 years old, and was last seen wearing a dark colored hooded sweatshirt. The second suspect is described at a black male in his mid-20s, about 6 feet tall, and with an afro. He was last seen wearing a red "Adidas" hooded sweatshirt.
Anyone with information regarding incident is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS.
As stabbing and slashing incidents have continued unabated, the de Blasio administration recently announced a new plan to reduce the crimes that have New Yorkers on edge.
The mayor and NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton announced what they called "phase three" of their anti-stabbing plan.
"Unlike shooting incidents, stabbings and slashings are more often the result of personal adverse encounters with strangers, disputes, street fights – or as I've indicated, domestic incidents," Bratton said.
CBS2 has been demanding answers from de Blasio for weeks about how he will curb slashings and stabbings. Political Reporter Marcia Kramer asked the mayor about the issue on Feb. 22.
"There will be 2,000 more cops on the beat in this city. Nothing is going to contribute to greater safety than that," de Blasio said.
