MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) – A Queens man has been indicted in connection with a series of unprovoked slashings in the West Village last month, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Thursday.
Hasson Victoria, 48, was charged with three counts of attempted assault in the first degree. He’s accused of using a pair of scissors to slash two men and attempting to slash at least one other man on July 27, police and prosecutors said.
“Hasson Victoria lunged at three different men with a pair of scissors over minutes,” DA Bragg said. “All during the morning rush hour on public streets.”
Victoria allegedly first tried to stab a 28-year-old man with a pair of scissors near Hudson and Charlton Streets, according to court documents.
Five minutes later, Victoria allegedly walked a few blocks away and lunged at a 24-year-old man with the same pair of scissors multiple times, aiming at his chest, prosecutors said. The man was struck twice in his right arm, causing bleeding.
Victoria then walked toward Bleecker Street and Eighth Avenue where he allegedly used the scissors to stab a 45-year-old man in the neck, officials said.
A few hours later, after the first series of attacks, police responded to a call of a reported stabbing on West 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue. There were no reported injuries, but Victoria was accused of harassing people and acting erratically and was taken into police custody, sources said.
NYPD officers recovered a pair of scissors from Victoria’s waistband, officials said.
The 48-year-old has a history of mental illness, according to the NYPD.
Victoria was also charged with two counts of assault in the second degree, three counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and one count of attempted assault in the second degree.
