Another Slashing in East Village
The stabbing was the third knife attack in the East Village in three months. Suspects were arrested in connection with two earlier incidents in June but cops said the suspect in the latest attack remains at large.
| 09 Sep 2024 | 12:45
A 45-year-old stabbing victim who was slashed in the face and neck on E. 5th St. somehow managed to reach this stretch of E. 14th St. on the night of Sept. 3 before he was transported by EMS to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. (
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A 45-year-old man was slashed in the face and neck with a knife on Sept. 3 in one of the latest attacks in East Village.
Initial reports said the victim was attacked outside 420 E. 14th St., which is near the troubled spot near Ave. A that was the scene of a triple knife slashing in late June. Police later clarified that the victim was stabbed further downtown on East 5th St. around 11:30 p.m. and somehow made it to East 14th, where EMS transported him to Bellevue Hospital.
That stretch of the East Village on the south side of E. 14th between First Ave. and Ave. “A” is known trouble spot. It had been the scene of a bloody triple stabbing on June 24, that left a 38 year old man dead, his 51-year-old wife wounded and another man also wounded. Police said the dispute centered around drugs.
Police arrested 30-year-old Alejandro Piedra and charged him with murder and attempted murder for killing 38-year-old Clemson Cockfield. He had come to the aid of his wife, Jennifer Cockfield, 51, who was wounded in the attack. They were initially trying to help another homeless vendor Jonathan Lopez, who was also wounded by Piedra, cops said. The scene of the bloody brawl had long been a haven for homeless people selling apparently stolen goods and dealing drugs, locals had long charged.
The triple slashing finally triggered a massive clean up drive and increased police presence in that stretch of East 14th St. Police put a mobile command unit on the block.
That slashing followed by several weeks another slashing near the Astor Place cube on June 6.
Cops arrested Steven Johnson, 35, on June 10 and charged him with attempted murder and assault.
There was also a broad daylight shooting in nearby Tompkins Square Park on July 12 that left a 74 year old man dead and a 44 year old man seriously wounded in a shooting at the chess tables on the south end of the park. As with many of the incidents, police said it was tied to a drug dispute.
Several days after the shooting, police arrested Angel Sardina and Rafael Macias, both 63, and charged them with second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder.
Early reports on the latest incident said initially that the 45-year-old victim was slashed at 420 E. 14th St. But apparently, he managed to reach that address after first being slashed outside a condo apartment building further downtown in the East Village.
“Police responded to a 911 call for an assault at 420 East 14 Street,” a police spokesperson told Our Town Downtown. “Upon further investigation, it was determined that the incident initially occurred opposite 753 East 5 Street.”
The suspect in that incident remains at large. Police did not respond to our query as to how the wounded victim managed to get from E. 5th St. to E. 14th St.
“There are no arrests and the investigation remains ongoing,” a police spokesperson said.