Three slashed in Kingsbridge restaurant

Three people were slashed inside a Kingsbridge restaurant in the early hours of Sunday following an altercation between an employee and the perpetrator, according to police.

They said that the suspect, described as a black, Hispanic male about 5-feet-6-inches tall and 155 pounds, attacked the victims after being refused service by an employee at El Economico, a Latin restaurant at 5589 Broadway, around 2:30 a.m. 

Officer Juan Ventura of the 50th Precinct said that the employee denied the perpetrator service because he was intoxicated. An hour later, the man returned and slashed three people in the face, at least one of whom was a customer. Another victim was the owner, according to News 12.

All of the victims were males, ranging in age from 30 to 50. The 50-year-old victim told police he recognized the suspect from the neighborhood.

“Apparently, he is well-known in the area, so he will probably be apprehended soon,” said Officer Ventura.

Still, the incident has shaken residents and workers at nearby stores.

Arelis Rodriguez, an employee at Imperial Drugstore one block north of El Economico, said she is nervous about working late at night. 

“We’ve been hearing about [slashings] a lot lately,” she said. “I don’t even work late anymore. We usually close at 7 p.m. and sometimes we’ll stay late, until like 9 p.m., but I won’t even close the store by myself. I have to leave with somebody else.”

This is the second slashing within the bounds of the 50th so far this year. On Jan. 4, a customer fatally stabbed McDonald’s manager Adam Garcia at the 5765 Broadway eatery.

A streak of citywide slashing incidents has made headlines in recent weeks. The crimes have included a Jan. 6 slashing on a Chelsea sidewalk, a Jan. 25 incident on the D Train and one on Feb. 18 in a Greenwich Village restaurant. The victims have had different ages and genders.

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told the City Council on Monday knife crime so far this year has gone up 20 percent compared to the same time frame in 2015.

Mr. Bratton announced that the NYPD will begin classifying slashing incidents with a distinct category, using a tactic he employed in the 1990s to curb the number of shootings in the city. Up until now, knife crime has been classified as felony assault.

“Believe me, as we do with all crime that we’re pretty much on top of where it is, who’s involved with it. And so in this issue, it has increased and what we’ll be attempting to do is identify where the increases are occurring, who’s involved,” Mr. Bratton said. “A lot of this is fueled by emotion, disturbances, disputes, family situations.”