A knife-wielding stranger attacked a Brooklyn couple in a lethal street fight early Saturday, fatally stabbing the woman and gashing her male companion before fleeing the bloody scene, police said.
The two victims were walking together at the intersection of Herkimer Place and Perry Place in Bedford-Stuyvesant when the assailant approached the pair around 2:30 a.m., with things escalating quickly, cops said.
The unidentified male attacker quickly pulled a blade and stabbed the 32-year-old woman in the chest and neck. When her 36-year-old companion came to the bleeding victim’s aid, the suspect stabbed him in the back before dropping the knife and fleeing into the darkness, police said.
Evidence of the violent struggle remained in the blood smeared on two nearby cars parked alongside a small makeshift structure used by the local homeless. One of the car owners arrived Saturday afternoon to find the aftermath of the stabbing staining his vehicle.
“I could have wiped it down, but I didn’t come prepared for blood … Thank God it didn’t happen when we were here,” said the man, calling the killing “a tragedy for no reason.”
The area serves as a camp for the homeless, with tents and other makeshift quarters springing up along the stretch off busy Atlantic Ave.
Police offered no motive for the stabbings as the search for the killer continued.
The stabbing occurred just a stone’s throw from a neighborhood homeless shelter, with one area man hardly shocked by the violence.
“I can tell you myself, late nights out here aren’t the best,” said Ben Tobias, 33, several hours later as the suspect remained on the lam. “You wouldn’t believe how they set up these tents. Some of these guys are out here building buildings.”
Both stabbing victims were rushed to Kings County Hospital, where the woman died and the man was listed in stable condition.
A homeless couple at the scene said both victims were homeless as well, although authorities did not confirm that, and homicide investigators canvassed the area near the auto repair shop operated by Tobias’ family.
“Guys will come out here to get a fix, or engage in sexual activity,” said Tobias. “It’s kind of rough. There’s a lot of new faces out here lately.”
Tobias said the violence in the area was often linked to the drug abuse by the homeless.
“Generally, when they’re not on drugs, they’re pretty peaceful,” he said. “It’s kind of a reality show.”
