A Bronx man who allegedly stabbed two teenage girls at Grand Central Station on Christmas Day while screaming he wanted “all white people dead,” according to the New York Post, faces hate crime charges of attempted murder and assault.
The incident occurred at the Grand Central Terminal, a bustling hub in New York City, during the late morning hours of the holiday, according to The New York Times. The alleged assailant, identified as 36-year-old Steven Hutcherson aka Esteban Esono-Asue targeted the young visitors from Paraguay, who were dining with their parents in the terminal’s concourse.
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials and court records reveal that the attack was precipitated by a confrontation at Tartinery, a restaurant in the terminal. After being asked to leave by an employee, Hutcherson, a complaint reads, responded, “I’ll leave. I don’t want the white man to get you.”
Nonetheless, after being asked to leave, Hutcherson then asked to be seated and an employee granted his request.
“I don’t want to sit with the Black people,” he commented, per the complaint. “I want to sit with the crackers.”
It was only moments later, according to the complaint, that after being seated and given water, the second employee spotted Hutcherson get up, approach the table of the victims, pull a knife from his pocket, and stab the elder sibling in the back.
The elder sister, 16, was stabbed in the back with the blade piercing her lung, while her 14-year-old sibling suffered an injury to her leg as the two tried to escape. Both were rushed to Bellevue Hospital, where the elder sister received treatment for her collapsed lung.
Per MTA, nearby police officers arrested Hutcherson “less than one minute” later. He was then taken to be held and arraigned in Manhattan Criminal Court on charges including attempted murder and assault as a hate crime. The judge ordered his detention, per the Manhattan District Attorney’s office.
Hutcherson has 17 prior arrests and has been classified as an “emotionally disturbed person.”
According to the Times, representatives of the Legal Aid Society handling Hutcherson’s Bronx case have declined to comment on the latest charges.
Nick Koutsobinas | editorial.koutsobinas@newsmax.com
Nick Koutsobinas, a Newsmax writer, has years of news reporting experience. A graduate from Missouri State University’s philosophy program, he focuses on exposing corruption and censorship.
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https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/hate-crime-nyc-stabbing/2023/12/27/id/1147432
