The suspect in the stabbing of an Asian man in Chinatown, New York, walked into the New York County District Attorney’s Office and admitted that he had just stabbed a man in the block, according to the assistant district attorney from Manhattan, Manhattan.
According to a criminal complaint, the suspect told authorities: “I stabbed that man. If he dies, he dies. I do not give an nf —,” during his arrest processing.
“This is a strong case with video testimony, eyewitnesses and a confession of the accused,” Johnson said in a statement.
The suspect was identified as Salman Muflihi, 23, of Brooklyn. Muflihi is facing charges of assault, as well as one charge of attempted murder in the second grade and another charge of criminal possession of a weapon in the third grade.
“We are continuing with investigations and may file additional charges if necessary,” Johnson said. Muflihi faces a minimum of 5 years in prison and a maximum of 25 years.
Muflihi is accused of stabbing a 36-year-old man walking on the sidewalk at the intersection of Worth and Baxter Streets near federal courthouses. The incident happened Thursday around 6:20 p.m., New York police said.
“Without any prior interaction, the accused approached the victim from behind, grabbed his shoulder and dipped the knife into his lower back,” Johnson said. As Muflihi ran away from the scene, he said, “I’m sorry,” an eyewitness told investigators.
According to the injured man, he “never saw the accused and had no idea why he attacked him.”
The man sustained significant injuries. His liver was punctured and he suffered severe internal bleeding. Doctors at Bellevue Hospital have removed one of his kidneys and his adrenaline, Johnson said, adding that the victim “is currently in a critical condition in the hospital and that he may not survive.”
“This case is the worst nightmare of any New Yorker … to be attacked by a complete stranger with a big knife for no reason,” Johnson said.
Muflihi’s bail was set at $ 500,000.
The knife incident took place two days after Mayor Bill de Blasio and the commander of the Asian Task Force on Hate Crime of the Police Division spoke about crimes targeting Asians in the city and elsewhere.
Since the pandemic, there have been 28 incidents of Covid-related hate crimes against Asians, and all but one have been Asian victims, said NYPD deputy inspector Stewart Loo, who heads the Asian Task Force on Hate Crime, which last year compiled.
There were two this year, he said. The year before the pandemic, there were three anti-Asian hate crimes. Loo and de Blasio said that hate crimes are often not reported, and that they encouraged the victims to report them.
In general, a violent act should be considered a Covid-related hate crime, or a statement should be made by the attacker, Loo said.
Prior to Muflihi’s confession to the district attorney in New York, the New York City Hate Crimes Unit investigated the attack, but their investigation ended when Muflihi surrendered and said the knife was not motivated by race or ethnicity. New York.
