Police have named Hugo Morales, 35, of Palisade Avenue in West New York, NJ, as the man killed yesterday in a stabbing incident at Pier 84 in Hudson River Park.
Cops are continuing their search for five suspects after Morales died following the stabbing at Pier 84 in Hudson River Park just before 6am on Thursday. A murder investigation is underway.
This afternoon, the New York Daily News reported that although it remains unclear what sparked the stabbing, it appears the stabber and the victim knew each other and had been drinking, according to their police sources. The NYDN also reported that the stabbing was captured on video cameras at the pier.
EMS transported Morales to Mount Sinai Hospital, where officials originally said he was in a stable condition — but later yesterday, police said that medical staff had pronounced him dead.
Police responded to a 911 call at 5:50am Thursday. They found the victim with a stab wound to the chest. The popular pier is at the end of W44th Street next to the West Side Highway, between tourist attractions the Circle Line and Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum.
Last night, the New York City Police Department asked for the public’s assistance to find and identify five individuals sought in connection with the homicide. All five fled eastbound toward the city after the stabbing.
The primary suspect being sought for the homicide is described by police “as a male, light complexion, Caesar hairstyle, last seen wearing a white shirt, light shorts, white sneakers and carrying a black cross-body bag and a black backpack.”
The other four suspects were described as:
- Male, dark complexion, last seen wearing a dark-colored cap, black shirt, blue shorts, two-tone shoes and carrying a backpack.
- Male, light complexion, last seen wearing a two-tone cap, white shirt, red shorts and red shoes.
- Male, light complexion, last seen wearing a light cap, dark-colored sweatshirt, black shorts, and sneakers.
- Male, medium complexion, last seen wearing a dark-colored cap, white shirt, gray pants, light blue sneakers and carrying a black cross-body bag and a black backpack.
Police tracked the fleeing suspect and the group via video surveillance cameras — and they were last seen jumping subway turnstiles.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips.
The murder investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time. We will update this report as more information becomes available.