New York police arrested a man Wednesday in connection to a series of stabbings that injured at least five people in Queens since last week, the NYPD said.
Authorities said 27-year-old Jermain Rigueur is being charged in four of the five attacks so far. He faces charges of attempted murder, assault, attempted assault and criminal possession of a weapon, FOX 5 New York reported.
Victims of the stabbing attacks include four men and one woman, all of whom suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The woman is 34 while the men's ages range from 36 to 74.
There were five stabbing incidents reported over the last nine days believed to involve the same perpetrator.
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The first attack happened on Monday, Jan. 8. At around 6:20 p.m., a 61-year-old man was stabbed in the back near 157th Street and 137th Avenue. The suspect reportedly laughed in the victim's face after the attack, police said.
A second incident happened Tuesday, when a 34-year-old woman was assaulted shortly after midnight near 158th Street and 134th Avenue. According to the NYPD, the victim was walking home when she was approached from behind by an unidentified male. The suspect stabbed the woman with a knife on the right side of her torso and ran away on foot eastbound on 134th Avenue, police said.
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The third and fourth attacks took place Wednesday and involved the same suspect. At around 7:30 a.m., police say the same man attacked two people at 134th Avenue and Guy Brewer Boulevard. The victims were a 74-year-old man, who was stabbed in the back, and a 41-year-old man, who was stabbed in the abdomen.
NYPD said the first victim, the 74-year-old man, was escorting his wife to work on 134th Avenue. As they were walking, the suspect ran up behind them and stabbed the man in the back without saying a word, FOX 5 reported. From there, police say the suspect ran away to 161st Street, where he attacked a 41-year-old man who had left his home to move his car to a legal parking spot, stabbing him in the abdomen.
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The fifth stabbing happened 25 minutes later in Jamaica, Queens, near Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue, police said. A 36-year-old man was riding the bus to work when police say he got into a verbal dispute with the suspect over a seat. Both the suspect and the victim got off the bus at Parsons Boulevard and Archer Avenue, when the suspect stabbed the victim once and fled on foot, authorities said.
Police said the suspect attempted to speak to his victims, but could not be understood.
NYPD said the same man is suspected in all five stabbing incidents, and they are investigating a sixth stabbing that happened on a northbound J train in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where a man was stabbed. The suspect in that attack fits the description of the man wanted in connection to the other stabbings, FOX 5 reported.
All victims are expected to recover.
