A New York City crosswalk was the scene of a fight to the death Friday morning as onlookers and passersby paid little mind to the conflict that included a man wanted for murder.
(Video: ABC 7)
Around 8 a.m. at the intersection of W 30th St. and 7th Ave., some busy commuters stopped to record the spectacle as a homeless man, Nisean Graves, and a bare-chested brawler duked it out over unknown reasons. What started as a fistfight escalated to murder charges when 34-year-old Graves pulled a knife and allegedly stabbed the as yet unnamed victim in the chest.
The decedent, a 36-year-old from Brooklyn, Maryland, according to ABC 7, was said to be wanted since Oct. 28 by the Baltimore Police Department for the murder of a homeless man.
A man was just stabbed to death on the street in NYC while trying to box someone with a knife pic.twitter.com/jFygFOPxUD
— Jack Poso (@JackPosobiec) June 10, 2023
“When I went to the corner, the guy was already on the floor bleeding,” witness Angel Aviles told the outlet. “And the cops were trying to resuscitate him.”
The victim was transported from the scene to Bellevue Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
At one point during the confrontation, a woman wearing what appeared to be medical scrubs could be seen in the crosswalk attempting to pass between the fighting men, an action that looked to give them pause regarding the dispute.
However, witness Joe Davis said, “When I turned back [the victim] was bleeding out of his chest.”
Graves was arrested moments later and arraigned Saturday in Manhattan Criminal Court according to the New York Post. Prosecutor Emily Yonan described the incident to Judge Stephen Antignani and said that after the victim reportedly “threw a kick” the suspect attacked with a knife, stabbing it into the man’s chest.
As the victim “collapsed to the ground, while holding his chest with both hands,” the suspect was said to walk away, heading down the block with blood on him and the knife in his pocket when he was taken into custody by police.
“He walked up the block like nothing,” Davis added.
According to ABC 7, the suspect had a record of his own and was registered as a level three sex offender. While authorities continued their investigation of the murder, Yonan contended in court that Graves had taken an unprovoked swing at the victim instigating the fight.
“This is a strong case with multiple witnesses, video and knife recovered,” she told the court Saturday. Meanwhile, Joshua Benjamin, the attorney for the defense voiced complaint over having not been provided the name of the victim or details of the Baltimore murder he was wanted for.
While Graves was held without bail, NYPD data showed that major crimes in the Midtown South district were up five percent through June 4 when compared to the same period in 2022. In particular, felony assaults had gone up 33 percent with 208 incidents compared to 156.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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