Three people were killed on Monday in Manhattan as a result of a stabbing binge. The think, Ramon Rivera, a 51-year-old poor man with a history of mental illness and detention, was apprehended after an hours-long spree that spanned from Chelsea to the East River.
The assaults appeared strange and unprovoked, according to officials, reports the New York Post.
A moment of despair in Manhattan
The violence began at 8.20am ( local time ) outside 444 West 19th Street in Chelsea, where Rivera allegedly stabbed construction worker Angel Gustavo Lata, 36, twice in the stomach.
Witnesses described a chaotic scene where a person screams for help while pushing a bicycle.
Lata, an Ecuadorian expatriate raising his brother in the Bronx, succumbed to his wounds at Bellevue Hospital.
About two hours later, Rivera tragically stabbed 68-year-old man Chang Wong near the East River at East 30th Street.
The last attack took place on East 42nd Street, where Rivera supposedly repeatedly stabbed Wilma Augustin, 36, near the United Nations. Augustin, a family of an 8-year-old, afterwards died in hospital.
A sharp arrest with support from bystanders
After a cab driver and American visitor alerted NYPD Officer Robert Garvey, Rivera was discovered close to the Greek Mission to the UN. Rivera, armed with two blood-stained home weapons, was taken into custody.
Officer Garvey and the witnesses were commended for their swift steps, which good prevented further violence, by the regulators.
A widespread failing?
Rivera, just released from Rikers Island, had a long history of detention for burglary, abuse, and other atrocities. Additionally, he had a history of mental health problems. The drama, which Mayor Eric Adams referred to as a “wake-up call,” criticized the criminal justice and mental health devices.
Adams reaffirmed his contentions that his controversial scheme of voluntary hospitalization for people with serious emotional illnesses may stop such incidents. Critics, yet, question the efficiency and accountability of the program.
” Today, we have three honest New Yorkers, merely going about their lives, who were the survivors of a terrible, terrible assault”, he said, as quoted by New York Post. ” It is a clear, clear indication of the criminal justice system, mental health system that continues to refuse New Yorkers”.
Congressional actions
In response to the drama, Governor Kathy Hochul pledged condition resources to address structural problems, reported CBS News.
However, lawmakers proposed the’ HELP ‘ Act to increase the pool of professionals authorised to suggest spontaneous hospitalisations.
Rivera is awaiting a second medical examination after being charged with first-degree death. The families of the victims, devastated by the foolish lost, are demanding answers and righteousness.
