Police Blotter
Altercation turns into
bloody double stabbing
outside Penn Station
BY DEAN MOSES
Two people stabbed each other near the 34th Street-Penn
Station subway stop in Midtown on Oct. 24, police reported.
Law enforcement sources said the incident began as an
altercation between the men near the corner of West 30th Street
and 8th Avenue at about 2:13 p.m. on Oct. 24.
Offi cers arriving at the scene observed the remnants of a bloody
scene where two individuals had been engaged in a heated argument,
which then became a physical scuffl e leading to them both
stabbing one another. While both men are in police custody, they
were taken to NY Presbyterian Weill Cornell University Hospital.
The extent of their injuries are unknown.
Initial reports suggest the altercation was between two emotional
disturbed individuals and began in a pizzeria, NY Pizza Suprema,
before spilling onto the streets just outside the entrance to the 1/2/3
subway lines. Although the investigation remains ongoing, no other
injuries were reported, and no other suspects are currently wanted
in connection with the incident, police said.
The incident did not appear to impact subway service.
An officer guards the crime scene.
East Village man out on bail after being accused of assaulting girl
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
An East Village man is out on bail
after being accused of attempting
to strangle an 11-year-old girl during
an argument at Stuyvesant Square Park
last week.
Court records indicated that Nathaniel
Direnzo, 29, of St. Marks Place posted
$7,500 cash bail following his arraignment
Saturday on charges of strangulation, harassment,
assault and acting in a manner
injurious to a child.
Law enforcement sources said Direnzo
allegedly attacked the youngster at about
noon on Oct. 20 during a squabble at
Alleged Union Square shooter cuffed
moments after Chelsea bank heist
BY DEAN MOSES
Cops are lucky this alleged Manhattan robber
and shooter didn’t bother changing his
wardrobe.
Eagle-eyed cops cuffed the alleged thief Tuesday
who shot a 42-year-old man on a subway train during
a botched Union Square stickup Monday after the offi -
cers noticed the suspect wearing the same clothes and
shoes during a bank heist in Chelsea earlier in the day.
Police received a report of a bank robbery at 3:37 p.m.
on Oct. 26 at the Chase bank located on 7th Avenue
and 27th Street. The suspect, not identifi ed as of press
time Tuesday evenign, was reported to have brandished
a gun and demanded an undisclosed amount of money
from a teller. When detectives heard the description,
law enforcement sources said, they realized it matched
the suspect in the Union Square shooting. With timely,
accurate intelligence and rapid deployment, NYPD offi
cials say they were able to utilize effective tactics to
relentlessly search for the suspect.
“Investigators radioed the subject’s description
to responding offi cers and directed them to canvas
nearby train stations. Offi cers from Transit District 4
canvassed the Union Square Station and held a southbound
R train,” Chief of Transit Kathleen O’Reilly said
during a press conference with arresting offi cers and
NYPD offi cials on Tuesday afternoon.
One of the responding cops, Offi cer Lenox Samerson,
said she deduced that from the direction of the
bandit’s most previous escape on Union Square that
he may be riding a southbound train. Following her
hunch and training, she requested that the R train
conductor keep the train held at Union Square stop
as offi cers searched the carriages.
“I deduced that based on yesterday’s report, he
exited through the West section of Union Square, and
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
Stuyvesant Square, located off Perlman
Place and East 16th Street.
According to WABC-TV, the trouble
began as a verbal dispute between pet
owners at a dog run within the park
and students from a nearby school who
use the park for recess.
Police said Direnzo allegedly approached
one of the children, an
11-year-old girl, and began to yell at her
and her classmates. He then sprayed
water at her and moved to attack.
As the child fought back, cops said,
the man allegedly grabbed her by the
hair, punched her in the face and then
attempted to strangle her with his bare
The suspect emerges from Transit District 4
in handcuffs.
the incident occurred on the west side,” Samerson
said. “We grabbed the next train that pulled into the
station, which was the Southbound ‘R’ train.”
Samerson said the suspect was found in the last
train car, facing the exact area of the park where he
exited after yesterday’s incident.
“He was identifi ed, based on what the chief said,
with the shoes, and we stopped him without any
incident,” Samerson said.
The suspect had in his possession three loaded
fi rearms nestled between a mound of $100 bills, Chief
O’Reilly said. The individual is also being investigated
for holding up a bodega on Sunday, in addition to
another bank robbery. His name, age, and place of
residence has yet to be released.
O’Reilly shared that police are patrolling the subways,
with an additional 1,000 offi cers to be deployed
into transit each and every day.
“Well, it’s disturbing to say the least that to see this
many fi rearms out on the streets on our subways. But I
can assure you my cops, transit offi cers, are deployed
in the right places at the right time. And we’re doing
everything humanly possible to keep them riders
safe,” Chief O’Reilly said.
hands.
Authorities said a 15-year-old
boy who witnessed the attack tried
to stop it, but Direnzo allegedly
struck him for his trouble.
WABC-TV reported that other
pet owners at the park eventually
stopped the attack, and Direnzo
then fl ed the scene.
Offi cers from the 13th Precinct
responded to the incident. EMS
brought the 11-year-old girl to
Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital
in stable condition. Paramedics
treated the 15-year-old boy at the
scene for minor injuries.
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE NYPD
This man, identified by police as Nathaniel Direnzo,
is accused of attacking an 11-year-old girl inside of
Stuyvesant Square Park on Oct. 20, 2021.
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