An enraged Council Member Erik Bottcher has hit out following a knife attack on a 44-year-old man in Hell’s Kitchen last night. “Hell’s Kitchen is a haven for the LGBTQ+ community, and we will always stand up against hate of all kinds,” he told W42ST, adding: “We will not be cowed. We will not be intimidated.”
The NYPD Hate Crimes Unit is investigating after the man was stabbed in the leg by a group of around seven youths “making anti-gay comments” at around 11.30pm at W44rd Street and 10th Avenue outside Grace Wine and Liquor. The victim was stabbed once in the leg. He was taken to Mount Sinai West Hospital for treatment.
Outside the liquor store this morning, it was apparent where the incident had taken place — with pools of blood still on the sidewalk as dog walkers passed by. The blood splatters from the stabbing were visible on the concrete, stretching over 20 feet.
The suspects fled the scene and are being sought by police. “At this time we do not have a description of the individuals that attacked the victim. They were said to be approximately seven “young” males but approximate ages are unknown,” said NYPD in a statement.
Police confirmed that the “NYPD Hate Crime Task Force has been notified in regard to the incident.”
Hell’s Kitchen’s LGBTQ community is on edge after the murders of Julio Ramirez and John Umberger after leaving nightclubs in Hell’s Kitchen last year. Several men have been indicted with these crimes in recent weeks. Also, last year the windows of gay bar Vers were hit by bricks four times in a week — a man was arrested in connection with those incidents.
Council Member Erik Bottcher said this morning: “I’m enraged by reports of an anti-LGBTQ attack in Hell’s Kitchen. I am in communication with the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force and will share more information as it becomes available. Hate crimes are among the more pernicious forms of crime because they are intended to strike fear into entire communities.”
This sentiment was shared by Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (whose district covers Hell’s Kitchen): “If confirmed, this will be yet another example of the type of vicious and hateful attacks on LGBTQ people that are on the rise across our country. It’s even more chilling when they happen in the midst of our own LGBTQ community, but we must stand strong against this hatred and outrageous attempts at intimidation.”
“The surge in anti-LGBTQ violence should be surprising to no one as it’s occurred alongside the dramatic increase in inflammatory rhetoric and hate speech directed at the LGBTQ community by right-wing officials and media personalities. Just this week, for example, Kid Rock appeared on social media wearing a MAGA hat to open fire on cases of beer with an AR-15 rifle, apparently in response to the beer manufacturer’s commercial partnership with the popular media influencer, Dylan Mulvaney, who is transgender. The video has garnered over 20 million views,” Hoylman-Sigal continued. “My heart goes out to the victim and his family. I commend the NYPD Hate Crimes Unit for their swift action in investigating this incident.”
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter at @NYPDTips.
This is a developing story and we will update when we know more.
I hope there is good surveillance footage from Grace Wines or the neighboring buildings
me too!
Just walked past again at 10AM and the photos don’t do it justice- there are *pools* of blood, not just splatter! Why it hasn’t even been hosed off the concrete is beyond me.
Yep. We decided not to publish the more close up pics of the fresh blood!
It may have had to do with it being evidence in an open police investigation. It was cleaned off by the time I walked past at 10:15 a.m. And also keep in mind that the gore needs to be cleaned off by regular building maintenance staff. I’m sure it’s not the kind of thing most people expect to deal with when they show up at work.
This is very bad — gay or not gay. When I got the alert on the Citizens app, my jaw dropped.
Agreed! BAD for all of us!
DeSantis must be happy today. Along with the rest of the MAGA crowd.
Damn straight it’s a political statement.
I am disgusted and outraged. We have absolutely NO POLICE PROTECTION, surveillance/patrolling of our neighborhood, or interest from them in keeping us safe. My husband had an experience in broad daylight of being hit with flying glass when 2 guys were fighting/throwing bottles. A manned police cruiser was 10 ft away and when asked what they were going to do about it, the response was: “We don’t work for you.” Outrageous and unacceptable.
Pointed out to an officer on the corner of 46th/9th that I just passed some people were literally shooting up junk on a stoop around the corner, and they just asked, “what do you expect us to do,” and continued shooting the breeze with other officers.
NYPD only cares about collecting overtime and beating protesters. Anything related to their actual job is just an inconvenience to them at this point.