Afternoon rush hour turned violent in Miami on Wednesday when a dispute at a bus stop near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 61st Street ended with a man stabbed and fighting for his life, according to Local 10. Police say 61-year-old Maurice Yoelcis Sapp was arrested after the 4:30 p.m. altercation. The wounded man was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, where he was listed in critical condition.
According to a police report, officers were flagged down at the bus stop by a man holding a knife. A responding officer then saw Sapp with a blade in his right hand, clutching another man by the shirt. The victim was bleeding heavily from a large wound on the left side of his face and had additional stab wounds to his left shoulder and upper abdomen, as reported by Local 10.
A woman who told detectives she had been sitting on the bus-stop bench said she heard Sapp tell the victim, “Say it again,” right before the stabbing started. Investigators say Sapp later admitted that he stabbed the man three to four times with a pocketknife. After reviewing witness statements and other evidence, detectives concluded Sapp was the primary aggressor. Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer ordered Sapp to stay away from the victim, and jail records show he is being held without bond at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, according to Local 10.
Bus-stop violence in Miami
This latest case lands on a growing stack of troubling incidents at Miami-Dade bus stops. In April, a man was stabbed after confronting an assailant at a northwest Miami-Dade stop and was taken to Ryder Trauma Center, according to the Miami Herald. Around the same time, Hoodline reported on another northwest Miami-Dade stabbing that shook a neighborhood in broad daylight, detailed in the earlier story Midday Bus Stop Stabbing.
Investigation ongoing
Miami police have not disclosed a motive in Wednesday’s stabbing and say the investigation remains active. Anyone with information is urged to contact Miami police or local tip lines so detectives can follow up.
