A suspect, identified as Ramon Rivera, age 51, was apprehended with two kitchen knives and clothes stained in blood after the incidents happened late Monday morning, Nov. 18, according to NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny.
Northern Westchester County resident Angel Lata Landi, age 36, of Peekskill, was standing in front of a construction site at 444 West 19th Street near Chelsea at around 8:20 a.m. when Rivera approached him without speaking and stabbed him in the abdomen, authorities said. Landi was rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Just before 10:30 a.m., the second victim, a 67-year-old man who was fishing near the East River, was stabbing multiple times in the abdomen. He was also taken to Bellevue, where he died. His identity has not yet been released.
Just before 11 a.m., a 36-year-old woman was stabbed in the chest and left arm near the United Nations headquarter. The woman, identified as Wilma Augustin, succumbed to her injuries at New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Augustin's hometown has not yet been released.
A cab driver then flagged down police, leading to Rivera's arrest.
Rivera has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.
Rivera, who is homeless, has a history of prior arrests and mental health issues, authorities said.
Speaking at a news conference Monday afternoon, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, "It is a clear, clear example of a criminal justice system and a mental health system that continues to fail New Yorkers, and it is troubling that we are standing here today, in a day that brings a great level of difficulty to the city.
"Three New Yorkers, unprovoked attacks that left us searching for answers on how something like this could happen."
This is a developing story. Check back to Daily Voice for updates.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Sachem and receive free news updates.