New York police have arrested a man suspected of slashing a French tourist across the face and neck as he walked with his girlfriend last week in upper Manhattan, the New York Post reported.
Gabriel Bascou, 27, and his girlfriend had just left the International House of Pancakes in Harlem and walked about three blocks when Bascou was attacked. Dramatic video obtained by the Post showed him on his knees on the sidewalk with his girlfriend and police officers around him while blood streamed away from him on the concrete. He’s been recovering since at Harlem Hospital.
An officer arrested Kahlief Young, 28, late Monday afternoon, police sources told Post. He’s been charged with two counts of second degree assault.
Oueste France reported that Bascou, a photographer, is originally from the French island Reunion but currently lives in Paris.
“I didn’t see anything coming, he didn’t steal anything from me,” Bascou wrote in an Instagram post, according to the New York Post. “Just a gratuitous blow of absolute violence.”
His girlfriend, who declined to be named, told the Post that she lives in New York, and Bascou had come to visit for Valentine’s Day.
The attacker was seen on surveillance footage in the area, and police put out a photo of the suspect, leading to his arrest.
🚨INFORMATION NEEDED🚨for an unprovoked Assault that occurred on W132st & 7th Ave #Harlem. On 1/14/2020 @ approx 11:03am the male pictured below⬇️slashed victim on the neck causing a laceration. Have you👓seen/know him?📲Call #NYPD 212-690-6315/#1800577TIPS Calls are CONFIDENTIAL pic.twitter.com/NNqXmf6Jvy
— NYPD 32nd Precinct (@NYPD32Pct) February 15, 2020
Police sources told the Post that Young lives near the IHOP and has randomly attacked people in the past, including a deli worker he allegedly slashed in the neck last summer.
The sources said he also reportedly rang a neighbor’s doorbell and then punched her in the face and kicked her.
A witness to the assault on Friday said the attacker had been walking alongside Bascou and his girlfriend when he suddenly attacked him.
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[Featured image: Screenshot from video]
