Man, 50, is hacked on the head and thigh by hatchet-wielding attacker at an ATM INSIDE Manhattan bank in 'random' assault that left sidewalk sprayed with blood
A New Yorker was attacked by a hatchet-wielding stranger as he used an ATM inside a Manhattan bank, with the gruesome assault leaving the sidewalk sprayed with blood.
According to authorities, the 50-year-old victim was getting money out of the ATM at a Chase Bank in the Financial District at about 5.20pm on Sunday, when the male suspect slashed him with a hatchet three times in the head and once in the leg, according to the New York Daily News.
The attack happened in the bank's vestibule - an internal area containing ATMs that customers can access by using a bank card even after the teller desks have closed.
'The guy that got hit in the head was screaming,' a witness told the New York Post.
'It's crazy,' the witness said. 'People were shouting and we saw the guy laying down - a lot of blood.'
The suspect then fled the scene and left the hatchet behind. It was seen laying on the carpet of the bank vestibule afterwards.
He was still on the loose as of Sunday night, the Post reports.
The victim, meanwhile, was brought to a local hospital and was reported in stable condition.
Police believe the attack was unprovoked and the victim did not know the attacker, the Daily News reports, calling the attack 'random.'
An investigation is ongoing, police told DailyMail.com.
The Chase Bank where a 51-year-old was stuck by a man wielding a hatchet
Crime rates throughout New York City have been increasing over last year
DailyMail.com has reached out to the New York Police Department for more information.
It comes amid a growing crime wave, with more and more assaults happening in broad daylight.
On Friday, an aspiring actor who once appeared as an extra on Law & Order was shot dead in a Bronx deli.
Jayquan Lewis, 21, was standing at the cashier counter at BH gourmet Deli in Fordham at 4 p.m. when another man collapsed to the floor, in a 14-second clip published by the New York Post.
Jayquan Lewis, 21, was shot point-blank inside a Bronx deli just after 4pm Friday
Another person standing next to Lewis at the counter on his phone is seen fleeing out of frame.
After fatally shooting Lewis the gunman appears to casually walk out of the deli.
Lewis was shot three times in the chest, three times in the arm and one time in the stomach. He was pronounced dead at St Barnabas Hospital.
Police are still looking for the killer, whose motive is unknown.
And just one week before, two people died with one victim severely injured in two separate but 'likely connected' shootings in Brooklyn.
The gunman shot three men sitting in a car that the NYPD said was damaged in a car accident on August 8 around 12:30 a.m., and then opened fire at a party of 100 to 150 people at an event space down the block.
Two of the men in the car died - Bronx resident Nicholas Palmer and Queens resident Novada Bailey, both 36. A third unidentified man was critically injured.
At least two other people were also shot and injured during the incident, with one person rushed to the hospital and another driving himself to a hospital about 24 miles away in Westchester County.
Police investigated the scene at B.H. Gourmet Deli on Friday, where Lewis was fatally shot
One of the five shooting victims was taken into an ambulance on August 7
A bloodied shooting victim is pictured being treated by emergency responders
There were about 100 to 150 people in the Brooklyn event space when gunshots rang out
According to NYPD data, felony assaults are up 5.5 percent from last year, as of August 8, with misdemeanor assaults up 1.9 percent.
The murder rate has also increased, from 258 reported during the same time frame in 2020 to 260 reported thus far in 2021.
There have also been 14.9 percent more shooting incidents, with 10.9 percent more victims.
And grand larcenies have also increased 1.2 percent, with grand larcenies from automobiles skyrocketing 21.6 percent.
Rapes have increased 3.4 percent and hate crimes have more than doubled.
During his daily briefing on Thursday, de Blasio proudly proclaimed that the 'Safe Summer' program has been effective and said in July the NYPD curved violent crime
Despite these staggering statistics, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced earlier this month that his 'Safe Summer' program has driven down murder and gun attacks in the city.
The mayor debuted the Safe Summer program in April as a way to end gun violence by creating disincentives for young people looking to turn to guns by offering them positive alternatives.
At a press briefing on August 5, de Blasio proudly proclaimed that the program has been effective and said in the month of July the NYPD saw 'extraordinary successes' to curve violent crime.
Listing statistics from July, de Blasio noted that the NYPD made 383 gun arrests in July alone, up 133.5 percent compared to last July, the mayor said, while gun arrests in general have gone up 44.5 percent in 2021.
According to the mayor, the summer month of July is usually one of the most violent in the city but the NYPD 'rose to the challenge' and was able to suppress gun violence and executed an impressive number of gang takedowns.
'The gang takedowns mean taking a lot of bad guys off of the streets and at the same time a lot of shooters off the streets, this is crucial,' de Blasio noted.
Overall since the safe summer program was launched in May, murders have gone down 26 percent, shootings decreased 10 percent and shooting victims are down 11 percent.
'There is more to do,' he said, 'but the NYPD is moving and making an impact.'