The deranged man who allegedly slashed a Danish tourist in the face on the Upper West Side tried to escape from handcuffs and spoke incoherently about “paranoia” in a chaotic courtroom Friday.
Joshua Zinberg, 25, repeatedly interrupted his arraignment on attempted murder charges in Manhattan Criminal Court, at one point yelling at the judge, “Who are you?”
“The judge,” Judge Janet McDonnell said deadpanly.
Mr. McDonnell ordered Mr. Zinberg. Mr. Zinberg spat at reporters on Thursday, yelling maniacally, “Teach me to have sex with Joshua the Jew!” — He is being held on $150,000 cash bail and will undergo psychological evaluation as the criminal case progresses.
New gory details of the random attack in broad daylight on West 86th Street Wednesday morning were revealed by Assistant District Attorney Alexander Orters, calling the attack on the 55-year-old Danish man “totally unprovoked.” said.
Ortersch said Zinberg ran from a parked car and ran across Columbus Avenue, intentionally targeting tourists in a frantic chase.
“With the victim's back turned to the defendant, the defendant continued running down the sidewalk with the knife in his hand until he reached the victim, at which point he slashed the victim on the right side of the victim's face from behind to the ear,” and then to the neck. I’m in,” Ortersch said.
An agitated Zinberg allegedly drove away while a witness took a photo of his license plate, leading to his arrest early Thursday morning, prosecutors said.
Zinberg's mother also alerted police after noticing her son's upset from surveillance footage of the horrific attack, sources previously told the Post.
When NYPD officers arrested Zinberg, prosecutors said, he told officers he had a knife and was openly concerned about his car.
“All you really need is a knife, right?” Zinberg told the officer, Ortersch said. “I need a key to go downtown. I basically live in my car.”
Zinberg was also charged in May 2023 with an unrelated misdemeanor harassment charge for what Ortersch called a “serious threat of violence” against someone on Instagram.
The arraignment nearly went off track when Zinberg appeared to try to remove his handcuffs and repeatedly interrupted the judge.
After the arraignment, Zinberg incomprehensibly screamed about “paranoia” and “self-defense.”
His mother, who told NBC New York that her son had had mental health issues in recent years, watched the hearing and was busy writing in a small notebook.
She did not answer questions as court officials ushered her to a waiting car outside.
