By Carol Tannenhauser
An unprovoked attack by a stranger with an ax sent a 51-year-old man to the hospital on Monday night, police told West Side Rag.
“The victim was walking on Broadway near West 61st Street with his wife when a man wearing a mask from the horror flick ‘The Purge’ rushed them at about 10 p.m.,” the Daily News reported.
The attacker threatened to kill the victim, police said, then hit him in the left arm with an ax, before fleeing on foot into the 59th Street/Columbus Circle subway station.
EMS transported the victim to Mt. Sinai Morningside hospital in stable condition, where he was treated and released, according to the Daily News.
The attacker was described by police as a dark-skinned man, with a blue mask, a dark-colored coat, blue jeans, and black boots.
The Precinct tweeted the following:
THE PICTURED MALE IS WANTED BY THE 20 PCT FOR FELONIOUS ASSAULT. ON NOV 1, 2021,SUBJECT APPROACHED MALE VICTIM AND SWUNG AT HIM WITH AN AXE CAUSING A DEEP LACERATION TO HIS LEFT ARM DURING AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK. PERPETRATOR FLED INTO THE TRAIN STATION.☎️212-580-6414☎️ pic.twitter.com/9Fv5CaVc8Y
— NYPD 20th Precinct (@NYPD20Pct) November 3, 2021
But the UWS was so much worse in the 70s and 80s so we shouldn’t worry about this either!
Good luck to Mayor Adams in trying to bring back some decency to this city. Anyone who denies that there is a major problem has their head in the sand. And anyone who thinks that marching, having bake sales and singing kumbaya will demonizing the police has no clue.
But most importantly, I am very sorry for the victim and hope they are better soon.
Thanks Carlos, but please don’t forget : “This is going on in every city in America”, “there will always be crime in NYC” & the ever popular victim blaming: “it’s society’s fault” & “if you don’t like crime, you can move”….I believe all those are in chapter II of the Progressive Gaslighting Handbook.
Comments are gaslighting only if they are not true.
No one would say that the increase in crime is not bad. It is bad. It should be addressed. It is a real problem for the city and the country at large.
We just see the (actual) gaslighting going on, trying to pretend that recognize Constitutional rights, expecting police to remember who they work for and accept that they don’t always get instant compliance (and that’s ok), and showing pity to the homeless and drug addicted is not leading to the end of the world.
Watch the statistics, as well as the headlines.
they just want to be angry, they don’t care about facts. They have nothing better to do
“they don’t always get instant compliance (and that’s ok)”. No, it’s not “ok”. You say this statement from the comfort of not having a job where you could be stabbed or shot at. A cop tells you to put your hands up, step away from a vehicle, get on the ground, etc. You do it.
@ Carlos and @ Frank
Good to know that a heinous act against an innocent victim–which in all likelihood was committed by a mentally disturbed person–inspires you to write derogatory and even hateful remarks against what you (inaccurately) perceive to be the philosophies or political positions of people you call progressive or UWS liberals. Are progressives or UWS liberals also responsible for last week’s attack on the Tokyo subway, or any of the several knifings of young schoolchildren that have taken place in China in recent years? And if historical comparisons of crime statistics (otherwise known as “objective data” or “facts”) between one era and another, or between one city and another, are not relevant or appreciated, what does that make the so-called anti-Progressive or anti-UWS liberal? A person who is opposed to accuracy, facts and, oh, you know, knowledge, and in favor instead of misinformation, ignorance, hysteria, other very strong emotional reactions, and all the false equivalence and misguided prescriptions that inevitably derives from that?
Serious question: is it your contention that if American citizens want their police forces to follow the law and U.S. Constitution and not abuse force we are somehow asking for or courting crime? (If so, would that be because in asking police to follow the law and not abuse force we are simply asking too much of them, or because their feelings get hurt and therefore they can’t fight crime when too much attention is paid to their misdeeds?)
Not so serious question: why didn’t you cite bail reform or our current Mayor as the cause of this act of violence? Don’t you think the person who wielded the axe did so because he knows that even if apprehended he won’t be held for trial, and/or that UWS liberals, Progressives and, most of all, our current Mayor, won’t want him to be punished?
I agree, Jerry, well-stated as always. The lack of humanity in some of the comments is discouraging, but when I read yours I am encouraged. Having worked with the mentally ill on Rikers Island, I have learned that these situations are complicated and yes, reform is necessary, but must be done with an understanding of the current dysfunctional system
I agree, Jerry, well-stated as always. The lack oof humanity in some of the comments is discouraging, but when I read yours I am encouraged
Thank you, Jerry. As always
Thanks for the comment Jerry. For sure some of the reactionary rhetoric, serious or otherwise, posted in response to local crime seems a bit shrill. But we do have a more liberal city government than in the past. And crime and disorder are worse than they were. And quality of life crimes and issues, like petty theft, people riding 4 wheelers up and down the streets, traffic accidents, don’t seem to be getting serious responses from city government. In fact it seems like the emphasis on criminal justice reform is being used as air cover for quality of life getting worse.
So if the liberal position is that we want to live in a city where the police will not apprehend people for crimes deemed not severe and if that mean there are slightly more violent crimes and considerably more personal property crimes / public annoyances, it’s a pretty tough pill to for many to swallow.
A more palatable position would be working with local government agencies to make the city as clean, quiet and safe as possible while also respecting the civil rights of all citizens. Just doesn’t feel like that’s what we have been getting. And informally, 100% of the people who I know who live in the city, which is hundreds of people, feel the same way about this issue. City government is not getting the job done and not taking the decline in quality of life seriously.
Jerry – I agree with this. Humanity can be combined with competence. I think this administration has proven that it is not. I think that has more to do with being bad at the job than politics alignment, though it is true that when liberals go wrong, it tends to be crime that affects everyone, and when conservatives go wrong, it tends to be a subset of people, usually people of color, who bear the brunt.
Could not have said this better.
Ok, Jerry, so, in your progressive, rational, clear thinking – what will happen to this person if/when they are arrested? Will they be compelled to get treatment? Will they be committed to a facility? Will they be detained for more than a few days (if that)? Will they ever be seriously prevented/constrained in obtaining another deadly weapon?
The clear, factual answer to these is: No. They’ll be roaming the streets shortly thereafter, if not immediately. The daily attacks by mentally disturbed people on unsuspecting victims across this city is a testament to this.
Similarly, what happens in the bowels of your new progressive system that we currently have scores of career criminals (20,30,50 arrests, incl. for violence) running around the city looking for the next loot or victim? Teenagers shooting each other in the streets – daily – without repercussions for them or their parents?
What societal goals does that serve? Until you can answer that – yeah, you progressives are indeed responsible.
Thank you Peter….. I’m happy to see there are still some people like you here in our neighborhood. Too many liberals and progressives are way too concerned about the criminals and have completely forgotten about the hard working, law abiding citizens of our amazing city.
So, there’s a guy wearing a mask, carrying an ax and riding the NYC subway system . . . sounds like the start of a joke.
And MTA surveillance video has nothing?
And no one saw anything or said anything?
Submit your own punchline.
About a month ago I saw someone hiding a machete in the park along Riverside Drive.
911 said “NOT an emergency call 311”
Ten minutes to get to a human on 311, connected to the precinct. Got disconnected. Called the precinct directly (the 24th) phone rang for minutes, when answered, did not seem too concerned, set the phone down, I hung up after waiting for 7 minutes.
Flagged down a police car, also did not seem concerned, more interested in a broken down car sitting in a parking space…
Second police car, similar.
Finally they followed me to where the machete was hidden and took it away, at this time showing some interest in a description of the person…
Seems a little too laid back to me when you can’t get the police to respond in the middle of the day to a report of a machete on Riverside Drive (or anywhere in the city!)
Any suggestions on who to report this to that may actually care?
There is a weathered-looking older man I have seen using a machete to hack away at driftwood by the river in the low 60s. He seems homeless, but I don’t know for sure.
Maybe the machete belonged to him? If so, I can’t say I’ll miss seeing him with it in the mornings.
I’ve had the same experience with the 20th precinct not answering their phone. For a precinct commander to think this is OK is quite something.
I’ve found the 20th precinct impervious to phone calls at night; they just don’t answer, or at least didn’t when I called… which means they’ve trained me not to call them.
…Batman?
Otherwise I’ve got nothin’.
What’s wrong with the ER less than 2 long blocks to the west at Mount Sinai West?
That was my initial reaction also. Very odd.
Mount Sinai west isn’t a trauma center, Morningside is a level 2 trauma center and that’s likely the reason this person went to Morningside vs west
Can you get a better photo or enhance this one?
WSR, is there an updated on the shooting incident at 71st street which took place on October 28th? Has the Precinct yet identified the culprit?
Incidents like this and the steady decline in quality of life since DeBlasio took office, just reaffirms my decision to vote with my feet. After 27 years living in the city, I moved out of state a year ago and haven’t looked back! Better job, a real house, and cheaper living. I consider myself a Democrat, but the far left socialist agenda in the party is too divisive for me. Just another New Yorker who has fled, making the South a bit more purple.