By Jeff Segall
Several readers expressed sympathy and good wishes in the comments section of the Rag for the manager of the West 91st Street D’Agostino supermarket, who was allegedly stabbed last month by an ex-employee.
The writer contacted the manager to find out what had happened and how the manager has been doing since the attack.
Russell Watson said his alleged assailant was a former employee, who had been fired a year ago by another manager, and was seen by others, for quite a while, wandering the aisles of the store, occasionally making small purchases. According to Mr. Watson, he had been involved with a female employee who worked in the the store, and that was why he was coming around and staying so long.
Mr. Watson said that he advised him “in as friendly a way as I could” that the store’s rules did not permit loitering, and then, the man became verbally abusive. When Mr. Watson told him he had to leave, things turned violent.
The alleged assailant struck him with a fist, in which he had concealed a knife that cut the manager above his left eye. Mr. Watson claims that when he tried to grab him, the alleged attacker inflicted additional wounds to Mr. Watson’s back. Mr. Watson said he hadn’t even understood that his face had been slashed until he felt the blood dripping into his eye.
He spent one night in Mt. Sinai West and has fully recovered and returned to work.
“He must have been going through some hard times,” Mr. Watson commented. He said he is happy to return to the store even after the attack. “It’s okay here. I love the people and the customers on the Upper West Side. As for the suspect, I’ll let the police deal with that.”
As of the morning of July 18, 2022, an NYPD spokesperson reported, “There are no arrests/updates at this time and the investigation remains ongoing.”
Isn’t it a bit odd that the assailant’s name or identity isn’t released? Are the police even looking for him?
I don’t know why the article doesn’t have his name (maybe because he’s technically “just a suspect”?) but per claims by the precinct yes, they have his ID and have been looking for him, including in areas outside NYC and are coordinating with other agencies.. I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to be any more specific as to where and with whom.
(And also, I’m simply repeating what the cops are telling the people involved. I have no independent verification, but see no reason to doubt their statements)
What irks me is that through this guy’s employment record at D’Agostino, the police know his name, his address, his social security number, the people he spoke to at work, and the names of his friends. The Detective working the case probably has a lot of cases and not enough time to do most of them justice unless public outcry gets to his superiors who put more pressure on him to solve that particular crime. Because no one died and the manager is actually back at work, the detective probably feels less pressure to pursue the perpetrator. But that leaves the assailant free to hurt or perhaps kill someone else the next time. If the community doesn’t put pressure on the higher up brass to follow through, well you know, the axle that squeaks the loudest gets the grease.