A 19-year-old Australian tourist was repeatedly stabbed inside a McDonald’s near Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan early Monday, in what New York City police believe was a largely unprovoked attack.
The incident occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on August 17 at the restaurant on Eighth Avenue between West 34th and West 35th streets. Police responding to a 911 call found the teenager suffering from multiple stab wounds to his torso.
The victim, who was visiting New York from Australia and staying at a nearby hotel, was transported to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition. He is expected to survive and later told local media that he was recovering.
Investigators said the teenager had been eating inside the restaurant when words were exchanged with another man. Police sources said the two did not know each other and described the subsequent stabbing as largely unprovoked.
Police arrested 25-year-old Juan Mercedes of Port Charlotte, Florida, shortly after the attack. Initial reports said he was charged with assault. Prosecutors subsequently brought an attempted murder charge, alleging that Mercedes stabbed the tourist twice in the back.
According to prosecutors, the wounds affected the victim’s lower right torso and back and punctured a lung. Mercedes was ordered held on $150,000 bail during a Manhattan Criminal Court hearing on Tuesday.
The stabbing has renewed attention on late-night safety around the busy Penn Station area. The NYPD investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attack remains ongoing.
