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Midtown stabbing outside school sends several teens to hospital, officials say

A stabbing in midtown, Manhattan left three people injured on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, police and fire officials said.
A stabbing in midtown, Manhattan left three people injured on Wednesday, May 24, 2017, police and fire officials said. Photo Credit: New York Daily News / Marcus Santos

A 16-year-old boy was arrested after a daylight stabbing outside of a midtown public school sent four teens to the hospital on Wednesday, according to the NYPD.

Juan Gomez, 16, of Washington Heights, was arrested in connection to a fight outside of P.S. 35, at 52nd Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues, just after 2 p.m., police said.

Four teens – ages 15, 16, 17 and 18 – were stabbed in the incident and were taken to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and were expected to be OK, according police and fire officials.

The 15-year-old was stabbed at least twice and was undergoing surgery, NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce said during an afternoon news conference on Wednesday.

Boyce said it was Gomez’s first day back at school after being suspended for a fist fight last week.

A 24-year-old building worker, who declined to give his name out of fear of retribution from other students, said two of the victims ran, wounded, into his lobby.

“I have blood on the floor,” he said, adding one victim was “… bleeding from his gut, just moaning in pain.”

“I brought him some Bounty to try to keep the pressure on him,” he said. “He was groaning in pain. He was limped over, holding his side.”

Another teen, he said, was bleeding from his upper arm.

“He was just in shock that they stabbed him, too,” he said.

Tal Shayo, who manages a nearby Verizon store, said he saw the fight and it only lasted five minutes.

“They fought, ran across the street,” he said. “The kids they were chasing tripped and all the other kids ran in that direction.”

Shayo said he was shocked by the stabbing: “They’re very young kids … what could be worth a stabbing?”

A knife was recovered by police, Boyce said.

Noza Nazarova, who owns a hair salon on Eighth Avenue, said students hang around the neighborhood after school lets out.

“They’re always here; they look for trouble. I’ve had to kick them out my shop,” Nazarova said.

The Department of Education is assisting police in the investigation.

“The safety of students and staff is our top priority, and individuals involved were transported to the hospital and are being treated,” the DOE spokeswoman said in an emailed statement. “We are working closely with the NYPD to investigate this serious incident.”