2 stabbed in Queens, wheelchair-bound suspect in custody, NYPD says
NEW YORK -- Police are investigating following a bizarre double stabbing in Queens on Sunday.
The suspect is a man confined to a wheelchair who neighbors say has caused trouble before.
One of the victims is out of the hospital and spoke to CBS New York's Derick Waller about the ordeal.
Thankfully, the knife didn't penetrate deeper into Birendra Manandiar's back. The 66-year-old was stitched up and released just hours after the attack, which he said was entirely unprovoked.
Manandiar is already stitched up and out of the hospital, just hours after an attack he says was entirely unprovoked.
"Motions with knife, this one, and he talks something. I don't know what he talking," Manandiar said, describing how the altercation started.
Police were called to 54th Street near 31st Avenue in Woodside at around 12:30 p.m. for reports of two people stabbed. The second victim, a 69-year-old woman, suffered far more serious injuries and remains at Elmhurst Hospital.
"Guy in the wheelchair apparently went across the street and stabbed the lady across the street, stabbed her in the face, and I'm not sure, maybe the neck, or so ... stabbed in the cheek a few times," friend Thomas Raffaele said.
Investigators recovered a knife from the scene.
CBS New York saw detectives in and out of the apartment building where the man lives. Police were questioning him, trying to understand his state of mind.
"He's a very ill person," a neighbor named Christina said.
She lives down the hall from the suspect.
"We always avoid him. We are scared to get out of the apartment because he lives right on our floor," she said. "You never know what to expect from him. It's not the first time he's been doing that, but it's very dangerous."
The woman who was stabbed is hospitalized with serious injuries to her face and torso.
"It's so sad. I feel so sad for her family, but, fortunately, with her getting to the hospital quickly, I think that they may be able with the surgery to be able to fix most of the things, but I don't know the exact injuries," Raffaele said.
Police have not yet identified the suspect and it's unclear what charges he'll face, but besides charges, neighbors are hopeful the man gets some professional help to try and stop something like this from happening again.