RANDALL’S ISLAND, NY – A 26-year-old migrant was violently stabbed in the stomach during a confrontation near the Randall’s Island mega shelter, according to police and early reports from law enforcement sources on Sunday. The attack happened around 10:30 a.m. at Field 82 on the island, in close proximity to tents inhabited by migrants at the shelter.
The victim, named as a migrant by some sources, was hospitalized at Harlem Hospital, where his condition is now reported as stable. Details of events leading up to the confrontation remain unclear, with no arrests reported yet.
Notably, sources have shared a description of a man of light complexion wearing dark clothing, fleeing the scene.
Sunday’s incident joins an existing string of violent events at the Randall’s Island complex, which currently serves as a large tent shelter for thousands of asylum seekers.
Only two weeks prior, Sandra Serrano, a 44-year-old Venezuelan migrant and mother, was killed when a shooter riding a moped shot her in the face and back at Lot 71 on Randall’s Island. Two more people were wounded in the July 29th shooting and were confirmed to be in a stable state in the hospital.
These victims were part of a group of around 50 people celebrating the results of the Venezuelan presidential election early in the morning, NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell confirmed afterward.
Since this incident, NYPD initiated a clampdown on the use of mopeds and scooters by migrants, who were sometimes using them for criminal activities.
Other instances of violence at the site include a June altercation between fighting migrant groups leading to numerous arrests, and a disorderly fight in April where five men were arrested for assault after injuring one asylum seeker and four security guards. In January, a stabbing over a dispute about a woman led to the death of a sheltered migrant and the arrest of three individuals.