Man who punched woman, slashed 11-year-old girl in East Harlem charged

NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) — Police arrested and charged a man accused of slashing an 11-year-old girl walking with her mother in East Harlem on Friday, minutes after he allegedly punched a woman in another random attack nearby.

Shaquan Cummings, 30, allegedly knifed the young girl in the back of the head, near her ear, as she walked outside of the 116th Street subway station with her mother, police said.

Officials said that the child is in stable condition.

Citizen App video from the scene shows the young girl, visibly shaken up with bandages around her head, being transported on a stretcher. In the footage, she is surrounded by an extensive presence of officials from the NYPD, FDNY, EMS and MTA.

After the attack, the girl’s alleged assailant ran into the subway system but was pursued by police. Authorities said that bystanding individuals helped to pin him down, and Cummings was apprehended.

While investigating, police recovered a box cutter from the subway station, which is believed to have been used in the slashing.

1010 WINS/WCBS 880 spoke to Rosanna near the scene on Friday, and she said that New York City leaders need to do more to keep criminals off the street.

“An 11-year-old girl? We are not safe out here. They need to do something, they need to start locking them up. That’s the problem, they let them go,” she said.

Moments before the slashing, the suspect is accused of another unprovoked assault nearby. Police said that near 115th Street and Park Avenue, Cummings punched an unsuspecting 43-year-old woman in the face.

“It’s crazy, this right here, this whole block right here, is out of control. It wasn’t like that years ago,” a woman who lives in the area told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880.

Cummings is charged with assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon.