Police say a homeless man was arrested after randomly slashing a 30-year-old victim in the neck near the Astor Place Cube.
Steven Johnson, 35, was handcuffed and slapped on charges of attempted murder and assault on Saturday following last week’s bloody attack, according to the New York Police Department.
The unrest began when Johnson approached a man from behind at the intersection of Lafayette Square and Cooper Avenue just before 5:30 p.m. on Thursday.
He then allegedly slashed the victim’s neck with what police described as an “unidentified sharp object.”
Shocked witnesses said the victim quickly ripped his own shirt apart to stop the bleeding and desperately tried to treat the gushing wound.
“He was on the floor holding his neck, blood everywhere. He was bent over, shirtless, holding the back of his neck. There was a pool of blood,” witness Michael Picardi told ABC7 after the incident.
The broad daylight slashing incident was completely unexpected, he added.
“There was nothing right before. No, there was no argument or anything. It just suddenly, out of nowhere, it just exploded,” Picardi said.
Police said Johnson fled the scene shortly after the incident and was arrested Saturday night in the East Village.
His last known address was a homeless shelter in Midtown, police said.
The victim was treated in hospital after the attack.
