On New Year’s Eve, as crowds packed the streets of Times Square to watch the signature ball drop, a man was stabbed in the neck with scissors.
The stabbing happened during a fight that broke out suddenly between two men on West 42nd Street and 6th Avenue at around 8:45 p.m., according to police and eyewitness accounts.
Brandon, a tourist from San Diego, told The New York Post that the victim pulled a pair of scissors out of his backpack after the attacker punched him, knocking him out.
The attacker then took the scissors and stabbed the victim in the neck with them. Cops arrested the attacker and took the victim to the hospital.
According to Bailey, Brandon’s girlfriend, the two men involved in the altercation appeared to be intoxicated. The attacker had been seen sitting with a girl and a case of beer before the fight.
Gabriel, another witness to the altercation, said that there was a significant amount of blood at the scene. Gabriel saw a commotion and someone making a stabbing gesture toward someone’s neck three times.
From the blood present, Gabriel assumed that the person had been stabbed, and people at the scene were yelling that “it’s not worth it.”
Safety concerns
Brandon and Bailey were visiting Times Square for the first time to experience the New Year’s Eve celebrations. Bailey said the attack would prevent them from returning to New York City for the New Year’s Eve celebration in the future.
“When people ask me how the ball dropped, I’ll tell them that story … I will say I saw some guy get stabbed in the neck in New York City. Very typical New York City,” she said. “I probably won’t see the ball drop again.”
This incident was the second stabbing in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. Another man was stabbed “about eight times” near Seventh Avenue and West 40th Street earlier in the day. The previous night, a man was also stabbed a few blocks away from Times Square at West 42nd Street and Sixth Avenue.
Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City, has promised to continue to work on reducing crime in the city and has received some praise for his efforts so far. However, some critics have suggested he focus on addressing issues such as emotionally disturbed individuals on the subway to increase feelings of safety among commuters.
Adams, a retired NYPD captain, former Brooklyn borough president, and centrist Democrat, was elected with the goal of making the city safer and more economically viable.
During his first year in office, murders and shootings in the city decreased by 13% and 17%, respectively, but overall major crimes, including rape, robbery, burglary, assault, larceny, and car theft, increased by nearly 23%.
Fatal stabbings and slashings in New York City have increased by 37% this year, with 96 blade-related killings recorded so far in 2022 compared to 70 for the same period in 2021.
Overall, stabbings and slashings have increased by 10% in the city, with 4,344 incidents reported this year compared to 3,954 last year.
The trend continues despite efforts from the state.
One was enacted on January 1, 2020, as New York State introduced a new law that eliminates cash bail for most misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, including robbery.
The law requires judges to release individuals charged with these crimes with no cash bail. The law, which has faced controversy, aims to reduce the use of cash bail and pretrial detention in around 90% of arrests and ensure defendants’ rights to a speedy trial.