Police: Good Samaritan Stabbed In The Back By Man At Staten Island Ferry Terminal
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A good deed ended with a stabbing at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal.
The victim and another man were injured while trying to help a group of young women who were being harassed.
Now, a suspect is under arrest.
Gauze and tape cover a nearly two-inch stab wound that Dylan Spinosa got outside the terminal on Sunday night. The 20-year-old was attacked after stepping in to protect a woman he saw being harassed by a man at the bus stop.
"He was talking about how he was going to do a lot of sexual stuff to her," a witness told CBS2's Cory James.
The man, who did not want to be identified, also saw the suspect making offensive comments toward other young women.
"Talking about raping them. You know, very disturbing stuff," he said.
He said when it went too far, he stepped in and confronted the man, who then called him a homophobic slur.
"He looked at me and said, 'Um, what are you looking at?' and then he said the F-word and I proceeded to step up to him," he said.
The men began fighting. That's when Spinosa jumped in and went after the suspect.
"I figured it was over after I put him in the headlock and he's like, 'All right, I'm done.' I didn't want to hold him there. I was like, 'I'm not here to try and hurt you. Relax, calm down. You lost your fight, it's over,'" Spinosa said.
But the fight was not over. The NYPD said the suspect, identified as 47-year-old Eric Shields of Virginia, charged after Spinosa and stabbed him in the back.
"I didn't notice that I was stabbed until a police officer and my friend said, 'You're bleeding.' He had a blade I want to say was about three to four inches long," Spinosa said.
The young man's mom rushed to the D platform, where the incident happened, after getting a call from her son and police.
"It was the one of the scariest moments of my life. Every thought was running through my mind, the worst. As a mom, the worst thoughts were worried through my mind," his mother said.
Spinosa was taken to the hospital along with the other good Samaritan, who said he had an asthma attack.
Meanwhile, Shields is in jail, charged with assault, possession of a weapon, and menacing and harassment.
The Staten Island district attorney is being consulted about possible hate crime charges. Spinosa said he wants to go into public service and work for the FDNY.
