An Australian teenager on vacation in New York City was stabbed multiple times while eating at a McDonald's in Manhattan. The incident occurred around 2 a.m. on Monday at the fast-food restaurant located on Eighth Avenue, near Penn Station.
The 19-year-old victim was reportedly sitting and eating when an unidentified assailant stabbed him in the rib cage and back. Sources indicated that the victim and the attacker exchanged words before the stabbing, but the attack appeared unprovoked. The teenager was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition and is expected to recover.
Juan Mercedes, 25, was arrested at the scene and charged with second-degree assault in connection with the incident. Regular patrons of the McDonald's location have expressed concerns about late-night safety, with one customer telling ABC7 that there are frequent fights and arguments at the establishment. "I don't stay out here that late because every time around in the evening, at night, this is not the time for any one of us to be out here," the customer said.
The stabbing follows a series of incidents in the area, including a man wielding a butcher's knife who was shot by NYPD officers on the Lower East Side hours earlier on Monday. In that incident, officers responded to reports of an assault in progress and encountered a man, identified as Wei Chan, 54, charging down a staircase with a knife. After the man refused to drop the weapon and lunged at officers, police discharged a Taser and then fired at least four shots. Chan was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Earlier in the summer, around June 7, five people were stabbed at Penn Station by a man identified as Hector Deleon, 51. Deleon, who has a history of assault charges, was indicted on multiple counts of attempted murder and assault.