Salman Muflihi drew a eight-inch knife and stabbed his 36-year-old victim as he walked down Worth Street next to the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Courthouse at around 6:20 p.m.
Muflihi ran to a guard outside the nearby Manhattan district attorney’s office building on Hogan Place and said to the guard, “I just stabbed someone. Where are the police? ‘
He was charged with attempted murder through negligence, assault, forgery and criminal possession of a weapon.
He told the detectives that he stabbed the victim “because he didn’t like the way he looked at him.”
The 36-year-old victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital in critical condition.
He was walking home at the time of the attack.
Muflihi has three previous arrests for sexual assault. He seemed emotionally disturbed.
The Asian Hate Crimes Task Force was involved in the investigation, but the stabbing is not currently being investigated as a biased crime.
FYI … tonight by value and baxter, an Asian man was stabbed and the case is being handled and investigated by our @Newsurvey who also enlisted the Asian Hate Crimes Task Force to assist in the investigation. Currently there is no evidence of a hate crime.
Stay safe folks.– 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 efforts to tackle hate crimes against Asians.
“Every community has suffered, but there has been a certain pain, some terrible challenge that the Asian-American community faces,” said de Blasio. “Because in addition to all the suffering of the coronavirus itself, in addition to the loss of loved ones and the loss of businesses, people have faced terrible discrimination and hatred.”
The Asian Hate Crime Task Force is targeting the entire city, but will pay particular attention to the subways following an outbreak of incidents in the transit system.
Community leaders say the incident is just another reason why the task force should be funded and staffed with full-time officers.
“You have to be able to give them the resources they need to focus on solving the problem,” said community attorney Jenny Low. “I believe they have very good agents who are well trained for this. But a volunteer performance is still a volunteer performance.”
RELATED | Mayor de Blasio says Asian Hate Crime Task Force is working to fight many biased crimes in NYC
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