NEW YORK (AP) — A 51-year-old man has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder stemming from random stabbing attacks that resulted in the deaths of three individuals in Manhattan, police reported on Tuesday.
Authorities identified the suspect as Ramon Rivera, who was apprehended after officers discovered him with bloodstains on his clothes and two kitchen knives. He is currently awaiting arraignment. Officials have reached out to an attorney who previously represented him, seeking comment.
Mayor Eric Adams expressed shock at the unprovoked nature of the attacks during a news conference on Monday. “Three New Yorkers. Unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen,” he stated.
The attacks took place within a short span of 2 1/2 hours on Monday, leading investigators to probe into the motivations behind the rampage. New York Police Department’s chief of detectives, Joseph Kenny, described the violence as “vicious,” noting that there were no exchanges of words or theft involved. “He just walked up to them and began to attack them with the knives,” he added.
The first victim, identified as 36-year-old Angel Lata Landi, was a construction worker killed around 8:30 a.m. while standing by his work site on West 19th Street near the Hudson River. Approximately two hours later, a 68-year-old man was attacked while fishing in the East River close to East 30th Street. His identity has not yet been released, but he died shortly after the incident.
Subsequently, around 10:55 a.m., Rivera allegedly moved north toward the waterfront, where he attacked a 36-year-old woman named Wilma Augustin near the United Nations headquarters on East 42nd Street. Wilma succumbed to her injuries later that day in a hospital.
A cabdriver who witnessed the third attack promptly alerted the police near First Avenue and East 46th Street, leading to Rivera’s swift apprehension.
This wave of violence occurs in a city grappling with increasing crime concerns in the aftermath of pandemic-related unrest. While murders in New York City have dropped by 14% over the past two years, serious assaults have seen a rise of about 12%, according to police data.
Recently, other stabbings in public areas have captured public attention, including a deadly incident at the Coney Island subway station just weeks ago. In light of these events, Mayor Adams labeled Monday’s violence as “a clear, clear example” of the failures present within the criminal justice system and beyond.
Officials noted that Rivera, who appears to be homeless, had a prior criminal record that included a sentence handed down a few months ago, as well as an arrest for grand larceny the previous month.
This incident echoes a troubling history of violence in the city, reminiscent of a series of stabbings along a subway line that occurred three years ago, resulting in two fatalities and two injuries within a single day.
In 2019, a tragic event in Chinatown saw four people killed and one seriously injured during a brutal assault targeting individuals sleeping on the streets.
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Associated Press writers Karen Matthews from New York and Anthony Izaguirre from Albany, New York, contributed to this report.
