Salman Muflihi pulled out an eight-inch knife and stabbed his 36-year-old victim as he walked past Worth Street next to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan U.S. courthouse at about 6:20 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.
Muflihi ran to a security guard outside the nearby Manhattan office building on Hogan Place and told the guard, “I just stabbed someone. Where are the police? ‘
He told detectives he stabbed the victim “because he did not like the way he looked at him.”
Muflihi is charged with second-degree attempted murder as a hate crime, assault, forgery and the criminal possession of a weapon.
The knife was not initially considered a biased attack, but the charge was added after police determined the suspect allegedly hit another Asian person in the head in January.
The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition.
He reportedly walked home after the attack.
Muflihi has had three previous three arrests for assaults, and authorities say he appeared emotionally upset.
Community members said they were furious and angry after the latest attack on an Asian New Yorker.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials spoke out earlier this week about the city’s renewed effort to confront hate crimes against Asians.
“Every community has suffered, but the Asian American community has had a particular pain, a terrible challenge,” de Blasio said. “Because on top of that, the suffering of the coronavirus itself, in addition to the loss of loved ones losing businesses, people had to face horrific discrimination and hatred.”
The Asian Task Force on Hate Crime focuses on the entire city, but they will pay particular attention to the subways following a rash in the transit system.
Community leaders say the incident is just another reason why the task force should be funded and staffed with full-time officers.
“You need to be able to give them the resources they need to help solve the problem,” said Jenny Low, community advocate. “I believe they have very good officers who are well trained to do that. But a volunteer concert is still a voluntary performance.”
RELATED | Mayor de Blasio says the Asian Task Force on Hate Crime is working to combat a number of prejudice crimes in NYC
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