UPDATE: Thursday, November 21, at 4 p.m.: Joshua Zinberg, 25, was arrested Thursday morning and charged with attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon, in connection to the Wednesday slashing on the Upper West Side, police said.
A 55-year-old Danish tourist was slashed in the face and ear around 10:20 a.m. on Wednesday near 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, police said. The victim needed multiple surgeries for the injuries, but is in stable condition, PIX11 reported.
Sources told multiple publications, including PIX11 and the New York Post, that Zinberg’s mother walked into the 20th Precinct on Wednesday evening, and told them she recognized her son from surveillance footage shared online.
Zinberg lives a block from where the attack happened, and was hiding in his car outside of his Upper West Side home when police cuffed him around 2 a.m. on Thursday, sources told PIX11. Investigators told the New York Post that he had pulled the knife out of his car before attacking the Danish tourist, but it remains unclear why he attacked him.
Zinberg has no prior arrests, but his mother had made a complaint about him to authorities for allegedly sending her a threatening text related to a joint bank account, and in May 2020, he was described as an “emotionally disturbed person,” after he called the police and answered the door with a knife, sources told the Post.
His arraignment date is still pending.
UPDATE: Thursday, November 21, at 11:30 a.m.: A suspect is in custody Thursday morning in connection to Wednesday’s slashing on the Upper West Side, a police spokesperson confirmed to West Side Rag.
As of 11:30 a.m. on Thursday, the 25-year-old suspect who was cuffed earlier this morning is under questioning, but has not been officially arrested or charged, according to police and amNY.
This is a developing story, please check back in for updates.
UPDATE: Thursday, November 21, at 8:30 a.m.: The man slashed Wednesday morning on the Upper West Side was a Danish tourist visiting the city, according to multiple reports, including amNY and the Daily News.
The 55-year-old man was standing near the corner of West 86th Street and Columbus Avenue around 10:20 a.m., when a man slashed him from behind across the face and ear, according to police and reports.
The attacker then fled eastbound on 86th Street, as the tourist crawled into the lobby of a building at 114 West 86th Street, in search of help, AMNY reported.
There have been no arrests as of 8:30 a.m. on Thursday, and it remains unclear if there was a motive for the attack, or if it was random, police said.
The victim was hospitalized and is in stable condition, police said.
Police released a photo of the suspect on Wednesday evening.
The Upper West Side slashing happened two days after a man went on a random stabbing spree in Lower Manhattan that left three people dead.
Original Story
By Carol Tannenhauser
A 55-year-old man was slashed in the face and ear by an unknown male assailant on Wednesday morning at 10:23 a.m., near the intersection of West 86th Street and Columbus Avenue, a police spokesperson confirmed to West Side Rag.
The victim, who was transported to Mount Sinai Morningside hospital by emergency services, is expected to survive, the NYPD spokesperson added.
The attacker fled westbound on West 86th Street and had not been arrested as of noon on Wednesday. He has a light complexion and was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt and dark pants.
The investigation is ongoing.
Please check back in for updates.
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Wow, this is a daily thing now? So disturbing.
Yes. A woman slashed a man’s face inside Times Square station this morning.
Right in front of our building., and police (and news) are still on the scene.
I am NOT going to blame this on the DA. Was in a jury pool in criminal court yesterday and they were serious as they could be about the case. If this was done by a “crazy person,” obviously something needs to be done to prevent outbreaks of insanity from harming innocent people. But going after politicians is about as useful as blaming Geraldo Rivera for exposing conditions at Willowbrook in 1972 and helping to spur the closure of mental hospitals.
That being said, very scary indeed.
Blame those responsible: de Blasio, McCray, ThriveNYC, Carl Heastie, NYS Assembly, Andrea Stewart Cousins, NYS Senate, Adrienne Adams, NYC Council, NYC Comptroller Brad Lander (de Blasio 2.0), Gov. Hochul, DA Bragg…core fat cat politicians legislating chaos and crime in order to grab and grow personal power.
Want to blame video games, tv, snow white for this kid’s mental illness? Maybe his parents have some responsibility? At least his mom did the right thing and turned him in.
Politicians and laws matter. How many crimes have been committed as a result of Raise the Age Law? How many crimes have been committed as a result of new bail laws? How many criminals have graduated to worse crimes thanks to Bragg refusing to prosecute many crimes?
But that doesn’t mean that severely mentally ill people should be allowed to roam the streets. They need consistent monitoring and medications. If people need to be institutionalized then we should make this happen. These individuals are not capable of caring for themselves and they need care. This is out of control.
A young adult in our building has issues, not as bad as this, but almost. He’s institutionalized, given a massive shot of drugs, and after 3 days was dropped into a shelter. That’s it!
yes and two young men in our building (different apartments) are drug addicted and mentally ill. One has already been arrested 8 times including trying to break someone’s door down and making death threats, but released only a couple of hours after and the police told me he’d have to either kill or severely injure someone before he would be put in jail!
Neighborhood schools were sheltered in place as a result. Which is the right call but is scary. As is that fact that there are crazy people running around slashing others. Lock him up and throw away the key. I don’t care how bad the injuries are. This is attempted murder. I don’t see how someone can argue otherwise.
Think about kids walking home from school and encountering someone like this. Anything can set off someone like this. Or maybe even nothing if it’s all in their head.
Since there are no critical organs nor arteries in the face it is not attempted murder. As a society we don’t lock people up for being sick – we used to do that but it turns out that it doesn’t actually help. What does help is better treatment and monitoring of people who are sick, making drugs and therapy available. Sometimes that includes putting them in a secure hospital, but “lock him up and throw away the key” is a 19th century solution to a 21st century problem.
How about eyes, carotid artery, jugular vein: seem pretty “critical” to me.
Nope. He committed a crime. He should get the max penalty in jail for that crime. And while in jail, he should receive treatment as necessary. At the completion of his sentence, if he is deemed to be mentally ill, then transfer him to a treatment center.
Know-it-all pedantics like you are the problem. I post here frequently. I have made it clear that I am in favor of treating those with problems. Comments like yours add nothing and make us as a community look bad. Yet I am the one who always gets censored.
If you’re sick enough to be a danger to the people around you, you do deserve to be locked up. It’s beneficial for society to have people like this in secure facilities.
You’re engaging in semantic battle, needlessly so. You objected to “Lock him up and throw away the key” but in the same breath said “sometimes that includes putting them in a secure hospital”. You may have thought you were saying something meaningfully different, but you weren’t. The end goal is to get people like this off the streets and into places they can’t easily leave.
It may not make them better but if they are sick they should stay inpatient. What it does do is protect you from being attacked. Sure it’s sad. It’s also sad to be a victim of a repeat offender.
Not sure that the statutes require that “murder” or “attempted murder” require critical organs or arteries to be impacted (or not). The key is whether or not the suspect had the necessary intent to commit murder and did not actual murder the victim.
I think it is likely that this isn’t classified as a attempted murder but not of where the victim was injured.
I’m sorry – I do not believe that trying to stab someone in the head is not attempted murder. There are somewhat important veins in the neck, for example, and I don’t think there will be an assumption that his aim was perfect in aiming for slashing the face instead of slashing the neck or stabbing the head, both of which could have killed the victim.
And yes, we do lock people up for being criminally insane. Some, for life.
What we don’t do is provide facilities to confine people who are unable to control themselves and provide treatment that would enable them to do so BEFORE they hurt someone else. We should, but we do not – and in the absence of humane facilities that focus on treatment and improvement (and in the face of a history of confining people whose behavior was inconvenient or unpleasant, but not dangerous, leading to a lot of “outsiders” being confined despite posing no actual harm), many people are reluctant to force or even urge treatment on people who can’t afford private care. And even when people have insurance to pay for private care, it is generally inadequate and the facilities are too limited.
Mentally ill people do have rights to minimal confinement – limited to what is necessary to make themselves and those around them safe. But those around them also have rights to walk down the street without being slashed by a knife, whether or not it is attempted murder. No one – mentally ill nor not – has the right to slash another person, and if a person can’t control themselves sufficiently to prevent themselves from doing that, they can – and should – be confined.
The order was lifted but the person was not caught. Not sure why they lifted it so soon.
This is getting insane and totally unacceptable. The mentally ill and homeless must be a priority for the Mayor and Gov. The people of this City have had enough. The patients are now running the aslyum.
Exactly! today on the subway platform I barely escaped a big guy who suddenly appeared in front of me, punching the air and screaming on top of his lungs.
He wasn’t homeless. His family lives around the corner
There needs to be a massive effort to identify those that are mentally ill and put them away. They should not be out and about in the general population.
That is what Kendra’s law was supposed to be for. But the ACLU and others spend countless hours arguing that this violates people’s civil rights. Meanwhile, it is violating my civil rights to live safely and peacefully. There are plenty of people wandering around the city where any rational person could tell in 10 seconds that the person is not sane and needs help. Have a mental health professional be involved – not just police – to ensure it is done in a thoughtful, caring way.
This is not just for us. It is for them. They need help. Letting them live like this is not being kind. It is being selfish to one’s need to feel like a do-gooder.
Again, it is the stubbornness about not dealing with this which is why Trump won. Those who are advocating for solutions are generally not Republicans. They are rational Democrats.
@suddeneyes I am going to blame Bragg. For every jury pool you sit on, hundreds of other people are being let go. I can’t go into a drugstore and get shampoo without needing someone to unlock it. We are living in a dystopian society with people being scared to call out misdeeds. Every violation of the law should have consequences. Here on the uws I was told by police that a robber who broke my windshield and took stuff from my car would not be apprehended and I should park in a garage. Bail reform started this. Yes people are mentally ill. But they also know they can do a lot of shxx and get away with it. If the police had less crime to investigate we would all be better off. Vote out Alvin Bragg. Vote out all the liberals who’ve made this city a cesspool. And at the same time, we need to get people with mental health issues off the streets and get them help.
We should start at with Kathy Hochul and the supermajority Democrats in Albany that pushed through bail reform. The DA’s office cannot ask for incarceration in a case when the New York State Criminal Code will not permit it. Considering the swing right in this state in the last election I am cautiously optimistic if the GOP fields a reasonable candidate in 2026 he/she will be comfortably elected governor. Certainly the atrocities of the last three days in this city will make perfect campaign ads, yet I dread what lies ahead for the next two years with Hochul and the Dems in unchecked control in the state house.
I do think that bail reform was necessary – whether someone sits in jail pending trial should depend on what they are accused of, not on how much money they have. Surely any decent person can agree on that.
But the bail reform needs reform if it truly does not permit bail to be used when a person previously convicted of violent crimes is accused of a violent crime. If it does not, it needs to be amended.
Bail reform was not the solution to the problem. The solution was a speedy trial, which is a guarantee by the Constitution. Bail reform exacerbated the problem, not solved it.
Do you agree, then, that there should be no bail – period – and all people should be held pending trial (even if they have money to pay bail)? If you support that position, then perhaps I could join you. If you support the status quo, I see no moral basis on which to do so.
It will be hard for a Republican to win in a Trump midterm, but if Tali Weinstein wanted to run for Manhattan DA again next year, she would win.
I’m confident that The new Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch is not the solution to the City’s problems.
I think you might be wrong. What do you know about her?
Why not? Are you being racist (yes, you can be racist against whites)? Sexist? Or classist (yes, you can be classist against the rich)? One does not have to be part of a group to want to help them. I don’t know a lot about her but what I do know I like. She is willing to roll up her sleeves and try to be part of the solution. Let’s see what she says and does before passing judgement.
Oh, why, anonymous person, since the police I know (and I work for a police union) are happy about her appointment.
Glad and interested to hear this. Thanks!
I think Jessica Tisch is incredibly impressive. I am happy about this. She is smart and committed.
why? what is her story?
Maybe she will: she has experience getting garbage off the streets.
I think one option that should be considered is having a elected board of commissioners for the NYPD. The Port Washington Police Department in Nassau County has an elected board of commissioners and it works.
Every mayor is defined by crime and how they respond to it and the other issue is in a multicultural society like the United States, there will always be issues with policing because policing is where the tension between different cultural groups and different social groups often play out. Even if we get tough on crime and have absolutely no sympathy for defendants in the criminal justice system, I will bet that conservatives will overplay their hand and we will be back to progressive policy in response to overreach in about 10 or 15 years. The key is striking the right balance between law and order, compassion and inclusivity. It is tough for any mayor or elected official.
So scary don’t want to leave my house
The issue with crime is that the criminal justice reformers have failed to understand one thing, New Yorkers have limited compassion for those who are involved in crime, they might have been open to criminal justice reforms as long as the problems are kept out of sight. If you do not want criminals in Rikers, you can send them to Canada to get the help they need for all New Yorkers care, but the minute when New Yorkers feel uncomfortable, they will take action to bring back tough on crime policies. The people within the NYPD know this, in the early 2010s when there was backlash to Bloomberg’s stop and frisk policies, the NYPD was not interested in good press to counteract the bad press that they were getting, they even told a reporter that even if there was a bad time politically in the 2010s, people will eventually come back in support of police. Look at where we are now. The media trying their hardest to manufacture a crime wave narrative since 2013 does not help progressives, they fell right into their trap and now here we are.
NYPD abandoned stop and frisk because it was unconstitutional. And, under Bratton’s second term as Police Commissioner, went back to broken windows.
Crime went down.
The best six years of low crime in anyone’s lifetime happened under De Blasio, in the 2010s.
Ray Kelly was commissioner under Dinkins and Bloomberg, but some here think he was only a genius under Bloomberg (crime went down about 30% in Kelly’s first go round). And Bratton was PC under Giuliani and De Blasio, but some here insist he must have been a genius the first time and a dud the second.
Search term of the epoch: “Epistemic closure.”
DeBlasio for all his faults was a much better mayor than advertised until COVID hit. Sure I have big disagreements with him such as his push for Vision Zero, but until the criminal justice reforms in 2019 and the effects of COVID, crime was lowest during his tenure in the 2010s. Part of it is that Bill DeBlasio knew that the media was trying to manufacture a crime wave narrative and DeBlasio was pragmatic enough to give the city’s business elite a concession on public safety by bringing back Bill Bratton. I am sure he would have retained Ray Kelly if it came down to that point.
Stop and frisk is still going on, albeit less than before but they are up under Adams, also there are a lot of unconstitutional stops and frisks that are downgraded to level 1 and 2 stops so that they do not have to be recorded.
I think we are past media manufacturing and feeling uncomfortable – I agree that *rates* of crime are down, but the number of random violent events does seem to be up.
“Seem to be” being the key.
As to the implication about ‘reporting?’ there are two crimes that always get reported; murder and auto theft (you need a police report for the insurance and to cut off liability in case the car, with plates, is used in a crime or a hit and run).
Overall reports are down by 25% from Giuliani’s best year.
But the two crimes that always get reported? Murder is down 40% and auto theft is down 50%.
What about Bloomberg’s best year?
It was a very good year but the sloganeering around these parts is “Giuliani made us safe.” And the objective fact is we’re safer now than then.
Moreover, the fact is that the country as a whole is seeing an uptick in crime from the pre-Covid lows. This city is safer than most.
By the way, those concerned about random acts taking a life?? We all are.
And the fact is that by far the most common source of a random act taking a life is a car crash. It’s happened to a number of my acquaintances, friends and even one close relative over my 72 years on the planet.
Does that fact keep me, or you, or anyone here, out of cars or off the streets?
Police have always been accused of playing around with rates, even under Bloomberg.
acarlet is correct.
bragg and the bail reformers who refused to prosecute are clearly to blame.
if elections have consequences (as obama said)
shouldn’t violent crimes have them as well?
Moves me in the direction of taking one more step toward arming myself, legally or not; but I know that I won’t get to that point, I’ll simply move out. No one should have to live in a city that seems to have a psychopath behind every bush.
How extra vigilant can we be and how much more should we be watching over our shoulder every time we step out to go grocery shopping, drop the kids off to school or go about our daily lives?
The fact that this is a daily phenomenon now, in broad daylight, puts everyone on edge. These attacks happen so suddenly and there is, literally, no time to react. So scary and so sad.
Clearly, so many people are in need of help as much as we are in need for safety in the neighborhood and beyond.
FYI the 911 call descriptions of the perpetrator are inaccurate. There is security cam footage of the stabber. Medium build, medium height ~5’7-5’9, light skin, dark curly hair, beard. Last seen wearing a grey t-shirt and dark nike running shorts with white sneakers.
WSR I think it would be helpful to post the security cam footage if you are able.
I hope the victim makes a full physical and mental recovery from this horrific act of unprovoked violence.
Not much else to say other than “crime is down,” “don’t believe your eyes,” “keep voting democrat,” “I don’t feel unsafe here,” “the victim should have been paying more attention,” etc etc.
It’s available on X, including a still shot.
https://x.com/Dean_Moses/status/1859286522522185820
Really disturbing and happening with far more frequency. Please stop saying it’s not as bad as we think and that the numbers tell a different story. What is happening is real. As is the fear. It’s time for the police and politicians on the uws to take action.
As noted below, it’s important to remember that frequency and awareness are not always linked. It doesn’t change the fact that there is a real issue with violent, mentally ill men in this city – but the numbers can be (and as far as I can tell) accurate in reporting an overall decline in crime.
The stabbing was not at the intersection, it was in front of 114 W 86. Also the assailant was wearing shorts not pants. From an eyewitness.
Hopefully the upcoming administration’s DOJ can take over the NYC prosecutor’s office and fix the mess we are in.
https://www.city-journal.org/article/why-wasnt-he-in-jail?utm_source=virtuous&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cjdaily
Here’s his picture. Not anyone I recognize:
https://www.nydailynews.com/2024/11/20/danish-tourist-55-slashed-face-upper-west-side-nypd/
The problem is with Albany, Bragg and our locals reps. Hoylman-Sigal is an obvious and persistent crime denier. Gale Brewer flooded our new with homeless shelters including the low barrier ones.
Virtue signalers embraced it. I posted many concerns about it but most of my posts weren’t even published. The ones that were published were attacked by virtue signalers saying that I lack empathy.
Feeling still as charitable?
Homeless shelter does not automatically mean criminals and insane people – let’s not go too far. But we all agree that the mental health system is useless. These stabbings are not a random criminal muggging someone. – they are mental health cases left untreated – there must be some middle ground between insane asylums and mandatory treatment
It is really horrific what is going on in our city. Unfortunately I’m sure many will vote for Bragg again.
If he is re-elected, that may just be the final straw for me in terms of my decision to leave this city. After getting hit by a bike, having to change subway cars due to menacing people, and paying outrageous rental fees, I’m just about done.
The problem is deinstitutionalization, a policy that began in NYS under Rockefeller (a Republican) to save money.
50 years on, it’s clear that this policy is a failure, and serves neither the interests of the public or of the mentally ill.
I believe that any judge who releases someone with multiple violent crimes on their record should be charged with criminal negligence ( at the very least). It is beyond the pale that people that are judged mentally ill and /or have committed violent crimes and are deemed likely to continue to commit violent crimes be released to essentially be predators preying on an unsuspecting public. Any other employee in this city who displayed such egregious judgment would be held accountable. 3 New Yorkers went to work yesterday and are now never, ever again coming home to their families .
I stood on 72 and Amsterdam today and there were three different insane people throwing trash and screaming. Maybe the police could try to intervene before these attacks happen instead of eating pizza in their station all day.
@TonyJames you’re wrong, there IS an important artery that’s in the face and it goes along the jawline.
That aside, maybe I’m in denial but I want to believe this wasn’t random. This guy looked (just by presentation) too normal. Then again, the Steve Buscemi guy did too. Ugh. I hate having to be suspicious is EVERYONE now.
I’ve seen this guy more than once, running west on 86th, always in shorts, presumably coming back from a run in the park. But earlier in the day. I’m assuming he’s local.
According to ABC7, he is indeed an UWS resident. His mother went to the police last night after seeing his picture in news stories about the crime. Here’s a link to the ABC story: https://abc7ny.com/post/uws-tourist-slashed-suspect-custody-after-man-denmark-attacked-nyc/15568912/
This stabbing will receive coverage in Denmark because of the nationality of the tourist. The earlier stabbing spree, in which 3 were killed and which was probably unreported in Denmark, will be part of the story.
The DA’s office IS constrainted by state bail laws which define when bail can be applied. But the DA’s office also exercises wide discretion regarding the severity of the charge, and frequently downgrades the charge when a higher charge could apply. In many of these cases, the higher charge not applied might be bailable vs letting the accused be freely released until trial. The DA’s conscious downgrade policy contributes to revolving door crime that erodes our quality of daily life.
Unfortunately some other felony crimes nearby in Hell’s Kitchhen.
One victim is an attorney with the DA’s office.
https://w42st.com/post/two-arrested-w44th-street-violent-assaults/
The assailant in the shot does not look like a homeless person. However, two personal experiences – there are security guards at 103 on the 1 line – i watched as the usual farebeater squeezed under the turnstyle. Asked the security guard why he did not challenge him and he said he was there to “guard the door” only. I see this kind of thing every day.
In 103 Macdonalds the other day making an order on the tablet – a huge clearly deranged vagrant (I have since seen him wandering here) came over to me babbling about money – when I ignored him he started dropping f bombs on me – while employees at the store did nothing. Left store and told some cops who went into store with me — of course the guy who harrassed me did nothing while cops were there but they did go and wake up someone sleeping. This McD is an awful place due to these folks.
Too many aggressive crazies in the hood now doing all kinds of petty crimes – something has to be done.
Very strange. That photo of the attacker has me thinking if this was targeted.
My thoughts exactly. It does not seem like a random act. Maybe the two had some sort of encounter that prompted the assailant’s rage.
They’re saying random but in clip assailant runs hard to catch up to and target victim. Probably some bizarre slight victim wasn’t even aware of, but meant the world to this psycho.
That qualifies as random.
Everyday there are a few high profile crimes reported in the news. Yet we are told that crime is decreasing. Are the books being cooled??
Aside from igniting further fear among Westsiders, including myself, this incident will contribute to the city’s reputation as a dangerous place to visit and thus have an effect on tourism. I just spent two glorious weeks in Paris–we walked everywhere and, aside from the crazy cyclists, we were never in fear of being attacked by anyone.
I think that has more to do with the fact that you don’t get Citizen alerts than that there are no stabbings. There have been terrorist attacks in Paris involving knives. I also wouldn’t walk around in terror in Paris – but I don’t do that here, despite these awful events.
That said, in France, people apparently can go into a hospital when they are mentally ill and (1) not be abused, and (2) not bankrupt their families. So that also may be a difference between the two countries.
There’s been an arrest (see NBC New York, which I can’t link from my phone). Not a homeless person. Lived on W 85th Street. No cash bail for violent offenses.
Not a comment on this post, but a general request/suggestion, especially when stories are updated (which is really appreciated): could you post the newer comments at the top, rather than in chronological order at the bottom? Like the way the story update is at the top., it makes sense that the newer comments are too.
It is getting to be a horrible place calling for strict measures. Absolutely no bail and minimum mandatory sentences of 10 years or more and mandatory psychiatric treatment during the period of incarceration.
I read on NBC – his mom turned him in! Way to go mom!
Interesting to see commenters doubting the randomness of this simply because he’s white . Like somehow it’s less scary, these incidents and comments are always a fascinating social experiment.
I think it’s because he is white, and does not seem to be disheveled or disoriented.
NY Post reports mother turned him in . Cops looking for him .
I feel really bad for the victim. He is forever traumatized and possibly disfigured.
I feel horrible for the mother of the perpetrator. She did the right thing, but I can only imagine what she feels now and probably has felt for a long time.
They are discussing how they have spent $5B on housing migrants. Somehow this city and state found $5B to support the migrants but can’t find the money to build a mental illness hospital with thousands of beds to fix this. And when we did have one BILLION, it went to DeBlasio’s wife for THRIVE which did nothing for this crisis. Laws need to change and the money can be had if it is demanded by the people. The officials that are in charge are to blame for this now – no one else. Speak up people – call your officials and demand to meet with them to get answers and solutions and then hold them accountable.
It’s up to us now.
National and State laws in place since the 20th century prevent the construction of those types of facilities. Why do you think Creedmoor in Queens has sat unused for decades? That’s where the Sackler Bros. cut their teeth; if it could be used properly today their name would be smacked across the top in huge letters now and they’d have the biggest free opioid program in the country.
Republicans’ initiative to transition from larger, society-funded asylums to smaller, private, local shelters – instead of addressing the human rights abuses in the asylums of yore – is another example of their anti-social (read: Margaret Thatcher) approach to policy.
100% agree – we need to fix our own problems before taking on others.
UPPER WEST SIDE, Manhattan (PIX11) — A man is accused of slashing a Danish tourist in the face on the Upper West Side Wednesday, police said.
Joshua Zinberg, 25, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, assault, and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.
The 55-year-old man was slashed on the ear and face near 86th Street and Columbus Avenue on the Upper West Side at around 10:23 a.m., police said. The victim needed several surgeries after a knife wound cut the muscle in his face, dislocating his jaw, sources said. The Denmark native is expected to fly home tomorrow.
More Local News
“It’s very disheartening, it’s very upsetting,” a woman who lives nearby told PIX11 News.
Sources said Zinberg’s mom went to the precinct and gave detectives his name after seeing a video of him on the news. She told officers he suffers from mental illness, sources said.
Zinberg lives a block away from where the incident happened and was in his car outside his home when he was picked up at around 2 a.m. Thursday, according to sources.
The suspect was walked out of the 20th Precinct in Manhattan on Thursday afternoon.
He spat at the media during the walk and said, “You’re just doing it for the clicks.”
His arraignment was pending.
Thank goodness his mother saw the surveillance videos, recognized her son and went to the police. I wonder if his previous behavior alerted her to taking any preventative steps and, if so, what were they? Did she contact anyone for assistance? Many times our agencies fail to provide the treatment needed that would help those who are mentally ill and would safeguard the rest of us. Now he is just one more criminal who has to be taken off of the streets.
Wow. Increasingly seems like a mental health crisis / implosion more than anything else. Scary.
I keep finding myself thinking about the victim of this crime. First of all, what a shock it must be to have to face such a thing so far from home – and then, I hope that he bought special health insurance; someone from Denmark would not expect that being the victim of a crime would mean he now is responsible for thousands (many thousands) of medical bills – I hope he has some way to pay them, or isn’t responsible for them. And he is far from home in a hospital; I wish that there was a way to find out whether he at least has what he needs, and whatever comfort he can get. What a thing to go through!
All news sources said he was to fly home today. This isn’t the first time a tourist has been attacked (some even killed) but I don’t know what the outcome was regarding their medical bills.
I had to be in the area so I decided to visit the address where the slashing took place–114 W. 86th Street. As I approached, I saw a young man holding a phone over his head with a picture on the screen. He was yelling something. As I looked at the building he started yelling “don’t investigate”. Then he started yelling that I was the one who had done the slashing and should be in prison. He started getting uncomfortably close. I started walking away, turning around repeatedly to see if he was running after me. There were no cops in sight. I guess what he was doing was not illegal even if the police were there.
The police came and told him to cut it out.
His mother was finally able to get him out of the house
The fact that he has a car is so alarming. How scary would it be if had decided to get in his car and run over pedestrians.
This is a very sad situation. This young man has been suffering with mental illness for a very long time. I am sure his mom was at her wits end. They have been trying for many years to get him the help he needs.
When people commit a violent crime we need to focus on the act, not the supposed causes. This slashing is a very simple case. The perp ran up to the man, slashed his face and ear (probably going for his throat and missed). It is irrelevant whether he knew the victim or not and he should be tried and sentenced to the maximum penalty allowed by the law. If he turns out to be mentally ill he can be treated in prison.
There is no excuse for trying to kill or injure anyone.
We also need to go back to enforcing laws against so-called petty crime, such as stealing rides on the bus or subway or shoplifting. The “broken windows” theory of crime control is correct. Stop the minor crimes and it will help reduce the major ones.
Why do we keep failing our mental health patients?.
Poor tourist, and poor mom 🙁