(Cupventi.com) – A man from New York with a significant criminal record is now facing multiple charges, including attempted murder and a hate crime, following an incident where he allegedly stabbed two teenage girls inside Grand Central Terminal on Christmas Day, as reported by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) of New York City.
The victims, aged 14 and 16 and visiting from South America, were attacked around 11:25 a.m. while having lunch in the Grand Central Dining Concourse. The suspect, identified as 36-year-old Steven Hutcherson from the Bronx, was apprehended by nearby officers less than a minute after the initial report.
The stabbing occurred at Tartinery, a French café in the Grand Central Dining Concourse, where the teenagers were dining with their parents. According to police sources, Hutcherson became enraged when told by Tartinery staff that he couldn’t sit near the teenagers. He then pulled out a knife, stabbed each girl, and shouted, “I want all the White people dead.”
The victims were taken to Bellevue Hospital for evaluation. The 16-year-old suffered a collapsed lung from a stab wound to the back, while the 14-year-old was stabbed in the thigh.
Hutcherson now faces charges including attempted murder in the second degree, assault in the first and second degree, attempted assault in the first degree, and a hate crime.
With a history of 17 prior arrests and considered by law enforcement as an “emotionally disturbed person,” Hutcherson had been arrested twice in the last six months. Before the recent attack, he was arrested last month for threatening to shoot someone, though no firearm was found at the time. Hutcherson pleaded guilty to both weapons possession arrests, receiving a 15-day sentence for the July incident and a conditional discharge for the November arrest. He was also issued a temporary restraining order.
Reflecting on the incident, New York City Mayor Eric Adams acknowledged the impact on public perception of safety within Grand Central Terminal, emphasizing the need to swiftly apprehend repeat offenders to enhance public security. The investigation into the stabbing incident is ongoing, according to the MTA.