Employee at East Harlem McDonald's stabbed while trying to break up fight
NEW YORK -- A worker was stabbed inside a McDonald's in East Harlem during the early morning hours on Wednesday.
Police confirmed to CBS2's Alice Gainer that the incident happened just after 12:30 a.m. at the restaurant on 117th Street and Third Avenue, adding a 23-year-old cook was attacked after some kind of altercation. They said he wasn't part of the initial confrontation but stepped in to defuse the situation. He was then stabbed multiple times with a box cutter in the back, arms, and face.
The victim is in critical condition. The suspect is still at large.
Video shows the victim being loaded into an ambulance.
One man told Gainer his wife works in the restaurant and told him an "employee was fighting with a customer and as they entered inside the store he pulled out a knife and started stabbing him."
It's not clear what led up to the fight or if the suspect knew any employees.
"I pray for them. That's the only thing I can do," said a man who manages a clothing store a couple doors down. "We worry about this here. Everything is happening like this around here."
Others who live in the area agree.
"There's always something happening out here. They need more and more cops out here," Victor Pinero said.
"It's not unprecedented. It's really tragic and terrible and I certainly hope the person comes out all right. It's just terrible," Ryan Rugan added.
BREAKING: @McDonalds employee working overnight shift in #EastHarlem is in critical condition after being stabbed multiple times by a customer. Happened right around the corner from where teenager working at @BurgerKing was fatally shot 2 months ago. Latest on @CBSNewYork pic.twitter.com/W09SUfAQZM
— John Dias (@JohnBDias) March 9, 2022
It all happened around the corner from where 19-year-old Kristal Bayron Nieves was fatally shot two months ago at a Burger King on 116th Street and Lexington Avenue. She was also working the overnight shift when a customer demanded money and shot her.
The suspect was later arrested, but pleaded not guilty. He is being held without bail and is due back in court on July 18.
Meanwhile, police are still looking for the suspect in this latest incident. They say he is about 6-foot and took off wearing a black and green jacket.
Anyone with any information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM on Twitter, @NYPDTips. All calls are kept confidential.