NEW YORK — A man has been taken into custody after allegedly killing three people in an apparent unprovoked stabbing spree in Manhattan, authorities said.
Ramon Rivera, an undomiciled man of 51 years old, was charged with three counts first-degree murder as a serial killer after being taken into police custody on Monday.
He was found with blood on his clothes, and is believed to be homeless and a resident of the Bellevue men’s shelter on East 30th Street.
The first victim, a 36-year-old man who has been identified as Angel Lata Landi, was fatally stabbed in the abdomen at 8:22 a.m. Monday in an unprovoked attack by the construction site where he was working on West 19th Street, the NYPD said.
About two hours later, a 68-year-old man was fatally stabbed multiple times on East 30th Street, police said. The identity of the deceased has not been released, pending family notification.
The third victim, a 36-year-old woman, was picked up around 10:55 a.m. at 42nd Street and First Avenue, police said. She had multiple stab wounds in the chest and arm, and she was taken to New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
An Uber driver witnessed the third attack, and followed Rivera up First Avenue, calling out the window to pedestrians to help.
“I’m walking with him, I’m saying ‘drop it man, it’s not worth it,'” said witness Baha Biten. “I told him ‘drop the bag, there’s going to be cops up ahead.'”
Veteran NYPD Officer Robert Garvey was there.
“Just heard a commotion, stepped outside, heard what people are saying and reacted,” Garvey said.
He stopped Rivera, dumped out his bag and found not one, but two knives. One of them was slick with blood. He was taken into custody at East 46th Street and First Avenue.
“If Officer Garvey was not there, these random acts of violence, this person conceivably would have continued those random acts of violence. So, he saved the lives of fellow New Yorkers,” Adams said.
The 51-year-old suspect — who was staying at the Bellevue Men’s Shelter on East 30th Street — appeared to pick the victims at random, police said.
He was apprehended around East 46th Street and 1st Avenue, police said.
“He just walked up to them and began to attack them with the knives,” Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said at a news conference.
Surveillance video obtained by Eyewitness News shows the man putting on a hoodie, skullcap, and gloves, then pulling out a giant knife from his backpack, hiding it in his shirt before walking away.
The suspect has eight prior arrests, according to law enforcement, and is believed to have severe mental health challenges, Mayor Eric Adams said.
“There’s a real question as to why he was on the street,” Adams said.
Two bloody kitchen knives have been recovered, police said.
“These random attacks left two innocent victims dead and another fighting for her life,” Kenny said. “We do have a suspect in custody and we are not looking for any others at this time.”
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