Clippings from East Village: Man stabbed in neck and shoulder in Manhattan; suspect at large, police say

EASTERN VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) — A man in his 20s was slashed in the neck and shoulder Thursday in Manhattan's East Village, in what police and witnesses say was a random and unprovoked attack.

The attack happened shortly before 5:30 p.m. near Lafayette Avenue and Cooper Square.

Onlookers lined up near the Astor Place Cube, during the hustle and bustle of the evening commute, frozen for a moment by the thick pool of blood covering the sidewalk.

The horrific stabbing surprised witnesses. They say in the moments leading up to this, there were no disputes or altercations.

“Right before, nothing. Yeah, no altercation. I just exploded out of nowhere,” witness Michael Picardi said.

But there was so much blood that the gauze was not enough. The victim had to remove his own shirt to avoid bleeding.

“Normal. People who had food inside turned around for literally 30 seconds and heard a commotion. The man was on the ground, holding his neck, there was blood everywhere,” Picardi said . “Bent over. Shirtless. Holding the back of his neck. Very large pool of blood.”

There was so much blood that the FDNY had to hose down the sidewalk.

The victim was rushed to Bellevue Hospital and is in stable condition.

Police said the suspect fled on foot, heading east on St. Marks Place toward Second Avenue.

Cops have yet to release a description of the suspect, but a nearby coffee shack has a camera aimed directly at the scene.

The case is still ongoing.

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