Salman Muflihi pulled out an eight-inch knife and stabbed his 36-year-old victim, walking down Worth Street, next to U.S. Court of Justice Daniel Patrick Moynihan, around 6:20 p.m. Thursday.
Muflihi ran toward a security guard in front of the nearby Manhattan District Attorney’s Office building in Hogan Place, telling the guard, “I just stabbed someone. Where’s the police?”
He was charged with attempted murder for criminal negligence, assault, forgery and criminal possession of a weapon.
He told detectives he stabbed the victim “because he didn’t like the way he looked at him.”
The victim, 36, was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition.
He was walking home at the time of the attack.
Muflihi has three previous arrests for assault. He seemed emotionally affected.
The Asian Hate Crimes Task Force joined the investigation, but the stabbing is not currently being investigated as a bias crime.
FYI …. tonight where worth and baxter, an Asian man was stabbed and our case is being treated and investigated @ NYPD5Pct who has also called on the Asian Hate Crime Working Group to assist in the investigation. There is currently no evidence of hate crime.
Rest assured.– Yuh-Line Niou (@yuhline) February 26, 2021
Community members said they were outraged and angry after the latest attack on an Asian New Yorker.
Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials spoke earlier this week about the city’s renewed effort to tackle hate crimes against Asians.
“All communities suffered, but there has been a particular pain, a horrible challenge, facing the Asian American community,” de Blasio said. “Because in addition to all the suffering of the coronavirus itself, in addition to losing their loved ones by losing business, people have had to face horrible discrimination and hatred.”
The Asian Hate Crime Task Force is concentrating on the entire city, but will pay special attention to the subway after an eruption of incidents in the traffic system.
Community leaders say the incident is just another reason why the task force should be funded and staffed full-time.
“You need to be able to give them the resources they need to help focus on solving the problem,” said community advocate Jenny Low. “I think they have very good officers who are well trained to do that. But a volunteer concert is still a volunteer concert.”
RELATED | Blasio mayor says Asian hate crime working group working to fight a series of partial crimes in New York
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