Random Hell's Kitchen Stabbing Spree Leaves 2 Wounded, Police Say

HELL'S KITCHEN, NY — A man randomly stabbed two people in Hell's Kitchen within half an hour of each other Wednesday evening, according to police, who said a suspect is in custody.

Nickolas Okeefe, a 33-year-old neighborhood resident, was arrested and charged with assault and weapon possession in connection with the spree, in which he stabbed two young people without saying a word, according to police.

The first victim, a 28-year-old man, was walking on West 50th Street just east of 10th Avenue shortly before 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, when a man he didn't know walked up, pulled out a knife and stabbed him in the back, police said.

The man suffered a small cut to his back and took himself to Mt. Sinai West Hospital, police said, while the suspect fled east along West 50th Street.

Just 30 minutes later, a 27-year-old woman was walking on West 47th Street just west of 10th Avenue when the same man approached her with a knife in his hand and stabbed her in the chest, according to police.

The woman was taken to the same hospital, where she was listed in stable condition, police said. The assailant fled west toward 11th Avenue, according to authorities.

As police began searching the neighborhood for the suspect — described as a man in his 30s wearing a yellow shirt and khaki pants — they stopped Okeefe near the corner of West 46th Street and Ninth Avenue, authorities said.

The 28-year-old victim named him as the attacker, and Okeefe was arrested without incident, police said. An investigation is ongoing.

Okeefe's listed address, on West 48th Street near 10th Avenue, is the site of a supportive housing residence for people who are homeless and have mental illness.