Around 5:30 pm on Thursday, the Police rescued a 17-year-old teenager who was stabbed in the lower part of his back in Times Square, specifically West 42nd Street and 7th Avenue.
The young man was taken in stable condition to a nearby hospital and in the case, the uniformed police had arrested seven people, as of Friday morning.
However, they are looking for 16 more people involved. Preliminary investigations reveal that the reason was a dispute.
Two hours later, there was another argument, this time on West 43rd Street and Broadway where a 28-year-old man was attacked by two other men.
The victim is hospitalized in stable condition and three suspects were immediately arrested.
The police are still on the trail of two more people in that incident.
For their part, some workers in the area confirm that they have noticed more criminal acts.
“A little heavy, yes,” said Yanet Sánchez.
-¿In what sense?
“Well, there are too many people stealing. There are too many people attacking for no reason.”
“A couple of weeks ago, I was going to the deli when I heard that a police officer had been shot in broad daylight,†Al Lewis said. “It is this year especially. I fix escalators, I go in and out all the time and I always see people fighting, screaming. The other day I saw a guy grab a woman’s wallet and flee on a skateboard. “I bring food from home so I don’t have to go out here at night.”
And other cases that have occurred in recent weeks include:
·The stabbing of a man on January 24 for denying another a cigarette.
·The assault on two police officers on January 27 by a group of recently arrived immigrants, a case for which there have already been multiple arrests and charges.
·And the Brazilian tourist wounded by a stray bullet on February 8 by a recently arrived immigrant who was fleeing from the authorities when he was seen robbing a store.
Despite the wave of crimes, there are also those who say they have not noticed a difference in the area.
“I always go to work in the morning and return around 6 in the afternoon. And I have not seen any of those aspects that you say. “I go very calmly and I return very calmly to my house,” said Janett Urguiles.
“I could tell you that the security in this area is good because the police are usually around a lot here,” said Manuel Cantero. “Here in the area where I am, in the time that I have been working here, I have not noticed that increase in violence, but well maybe so, because things have changed a lot now.â€
And in the majority of these cases the Police Department has reported significant arrests as well as charges.
If you have information that leads to the arrest of the other suspects, call the Crime Stoppers line 1 888 57 PISTA.
