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NYPD: Delivery Worker Stabbed To Death, E-Bike Stolen Near Sara D. Roosevelt Park

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Police are searching for the suspect who stabbed and killed a delivery worker on the Lower East Side on Saturday morning.

Police released a new video and they're hoping it helps in the search, CBS2's Thalia Perez reported Sunday.

The footage shows the suspect. Police said he has a thin build and was wearing jeans and a grey hoodie.

They said the incident happened just after 1 a.m. Saturday. The victim, identified as 51-year-old Mia Sala of Brooklyn, was found near the Sara D. Roosevelt Park with a slash wound to his face and a stab wound to the abdomen.

"After 10 at night to 4 in the morning is not security," delivery worker Abdou Karaim said.

Workers like Karaim said they are on edge after this latest attack because they are under a constant threat of being attacked for their cash or e-bikes.

"Delivery job is not safe, because sometimes you go in a building and you don't know what kind of people live in there," a worker named Zakaria said.

In a recent survey, 54% of delivery workers, many of them immigrants, reported being robbed, and 30% said they were assaulted during the robbery. Zakaria said he watches out for any usual signs during a delivery.

"They try to delay the elevator so some of them can cut your lock and take your bike," Zakaria said.

CBS2's Maurice Dubois recently spoke with delivery workers who formed a group called The Delivery Boys to patrol the Willis Avenue Bridge connecting the Bronx and Manhattan after their shifts.

It's one way the delivery workers are banding together to try and stay safe.

Saturday's stabbing marked the 11th delivery worker killed on the job in 2021.

If you recognize the suspect in the surveillance video, you're urged to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.

CBS2's Thalia Perez and Christina Fan contributed to this report. Editor's note: This story was first published Oct. 17.

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