Authorities have apprehended a 55-year-old man from the Bronx for the fatal stabbing of two individuals and the injury of another during a violent altercation that reportedly began with an attempted groping. The suspect, Derrick Williams, was taken into custody on Wednesday evening. He now faces charges of two counts of murder, as well as one count of attempted murder. The initial incident that led to these criminal charges took place in a building on August 25.
According to the police, the incident unfolded around 10:20 p.m. when a 45-year-old man and two women, aged 29 and 33, were ascending a stairwell within an apartment building. It was during this time that Williams allegedly attempted to grope one of the women, leading to a confrontation. The trio then followed Williams to an apartment on the fourth floor, where a physical altercation ensued. During the altercation, the suspect proceeded to stab the two women, who managed to escape the building, leaving Williams and another man, Roberto Jimenez, behind.
Upon responding to a 911 call, the police discovered Gina Cooks, the younger woman, with a fatal stab wound to her chest. She was pronounced dead after she was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital. The other woman, aged 33, sustained a slash to her hand but was listed in stable condition. Inside the building, authorities found Jimenez deceased from multiple stab wounds to his torso. Both Williams and Jimenez resided in the same building where the violent incident occurred, while Cooks lived over a mile away in Fordham Heights.
The motive behind the alleged attempted groping and subsequent violence remains under investigation. Authorities are working to gather more information and determine the exact sequence of events that led up to the fatal stabbings. The identities of the victims have been released, but further details about their relationship to the suspect have not been disclosed.