Suspect Made Anti-White Statements Before Slashing At Chelsea Grocery Store, Police Say
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A black man expressed anti-white statements before slashing another man with a knife inside a Chelsea grocery store, the NYPD said.
The attack happened at 6 a.m. last Friday inside Empire Grocery & Deli on West 25th Street and Ninth Avenue.
"They started from outside, they got inside the store, the black guy with the knife tried to swing at him and tried to slice his face. So he's swinging more than one time, and I think he hit him in his hand," Sammy, a clerk who witnessed the attack, told 1010 WINS' John Montone.
The suspect, described as a black man around 30 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and between 200 and 240 pounds, fled on foot, but the slashing was caught by the store's security cameras.
The 40-year-old victim suffered a cut to his wrist, police said.
The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating the incident. However, the clerk told Montone that he did not hear the anti-white remarks.
Anyone with information regarding this incident has been 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 or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) and entering TIP577. All calls will be kept strictly confidential.
