Caught On Video: Group Slashes, Beats Man Near Times Square In Apparent Unprovoked Attack
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - Police are searching for a group of teenagers they say stabbed and slashed a man walking near Times Square.
The victim told officers all he did was look at them.
As CBS2's Natalie Duddridge reports, surveillance video shows a man run up behind a 62-year-old and hit him over the head with a large object that appears to be a piece of wood, knocking the man down. Then a group of six other men run over and beat him up. At least two of the attackers stabbed him, slashing his neck.
It happened at 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday, just before a security guard who spoke with Duddridge started his shift.
"The guard inside, he called police. I came in the morning. I saw it was an active crime scene already … I don't know what happened but it's crazy someone would do this to a 62-year-old man," the guard said.
The victim suffered a collapsed lung, cuts and bruises and was treated at Bellevue Hospital.
He told police he had no previous interaction with the men, that he was just walking home a suspect yelled "What are you looking at?"
The next thing he knew, they jumped him.
Officers say the group of at least seven men took off running. Police later recovered a knife at the scene.
"Midtown has become a big problem, and I hope the mayor sees this and cleans the streets," said Midtown resident Carlos Chavez. "The pandemic has made it worse a lot of homeless. The scaffolding makes it a spot to hang out."
"They were raised with anger with fear," one person said. "It's crazy when you see stuff like that."
The NYPD is offering a reward of $3,500 for any tips that lead to arrests.
Anyone with any information is asked 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.
