Police: Masked Man Sought In Stabbing Of 3 Teens At Rockville Centre Park
ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Police are trying to find a masked man who they said stabbed three teens after starting a fight at a Nassau County park.
It happened just before 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Morgan Days Park on Nassau Street in Rockville Centre.
The three victims, all 19, were playing basketball when a man walked up to the group, pulled a ski mask over his face and tried to hit one of the teens, police said.
A fight then broke out and when the other two teens tried to help their friend, police said the man pulled out a black, silver-colored knife and stabbed all three before fleeing towards the parking lot.
The park was filled with kids and families and many of those children are now afraid to come play here after watching the violent attack unfold right in front of them, CBS2's Janelle Burrell reported.
"They were hysterical. The children are in shock. It's scary," said Tjuana Evans, who works at the nearby community center.
She said some of the kids she teaches came racing in saying there was a man in the park with a knife attacking three teenage boys.
"Two of the little girls I work with, it was their brothers," she said. "These are all good young men, just minding their own business and they say somebody just started stabbing and they ran."
The teens were taken to the hospital where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries, CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported.
"They play basketball every day," Evans said. "These three young men, it's part of their daily routine, so you wouldn't expect anyone to come down and try to harm them at all."
The park sits behind an apartment complex operated by Rockville Centre Housing Authority where some of the victims live. It also borders high end condos and on a nice evening like Tuesday night, it was crowded, Burrell reported.
"I was scared," said nearby resident Crystie Bowe. "I didn't want it to be so close to where I live."
"There are baseball fields, football practice for youth groups, basketball courts are always filled up," said nearby resident Brian Golden. "It's usually heavily patrolled by officers as well."
Police describe the suspect as a white man between the ages of 20 and 25, weighing 180 pounds and between 5'5" and 5'8" tall. They said he was bald with sleeve-type tattoos on both arms.
The scene of the stabbing was just two miles south of where three other teenagers were stabbed with a machete Monday afternoon.
That incident happened on a wooded trail at Hempstead Lake State Park in West Hempstead, police said.
All of the victims were taken to a hospital in Oceanside, 1010 WINS' Glenn Schuck reported. One of the victims required surgery.
Police said so far, there is no indication that the two cases are related. Police have also dismissed a report that the incident was related to gang retaliation, WCBS 880's Sean Adams reported.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.
