A verbal argument at a Florence Avenue home in Great Neck turned violent Friday night when a 34-year-old man allegedly pulled out a foldable knife and stabbed another man multiple times in the neck. Nassau County police say the 40-year-old victim managed to call 911 himself, fearing for his safety, which led officers to track down and arrest the suspect nearby without further incident.
According to News12 Long Island, police say the incident began around 9:30 p.m. when Eric Vasquez got into a verbal argument with another man at the Florence Avenue residence. That dispute escalated into Vasquez allegedly stabbing the victim in the neck multiple times, per investigators. Officers took Vasquez into custody without incident shortly after responding to the scene.
Separate reporting from Long Island Life & Politics identifies the responding officers as coming from the Nassau County Police Department's Sixth Squad, which was called to the home on August 28 for a reported domestic disturbance. That outlet reports Vasquez now faces charges of second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
What the Charges Carry Under New York Law
Second-degree assault under New York Penal Law § 120.05 is classified as a Class D violent felony, carrying a potential state prison sentence of up to seven years upon conviction, according to legal guidance from Saland Law. The fourth-degree weapon possession charge, covered under Penal Law § 265.01, is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in county jail under the same statute. That misdemeanor charge typically applies when someone is found possessing a dangerous weapon or instrument with intent to use it unlawfully against another person, per the same legal source.
Vasquez is scheduled to be arraigned Saturday at the Nassau County First District Court at 99 Main Street in Hempstead, which handles all pre-indictment misdemeanor and felony arraignments for the county seven days a week, according to guidance published by Ronald S. Cook, PC. Defendants held overnight on felony charges are typically transported from precinct holding cells to that central arraignment facility, where a judge formally reads the charges and decides on bail or release conditions, per the Law Office of Bryan E. Cameron.
A Rare Instance of Violence in a Historically Safe Area
The Sixth Squad holds primary detective jurisdiction over Great Neck and the surrounding Town of North Hempstead, an area that stands in sharp contrast to what unfolded on Florence Avenue. Crime data assessments cited by Zippboxx indicate that North Hempstead's violent crime rate runs roughly 98% lower than the national average, reflecting the broader pattern across Nassau County.
Nassau County was ranked the safest county in the United States in a 2024 U.S. News & World Report study, according to FOX 5 New York, which cited a violent crime rate of 143.6 per 100,000 residents compared to a national average of 255.2 per 100,000. State Division of Criminal Justice Services statistics recorded 1,668 aggravated assaults and 13 homicides across the county's population of 1.4 million residents in 2023, the station reported.
It remains unclear what specific relationship existed between Vasquez and the victim, and the victim's current medical condition and recovery status have not been detailed in available reports. Whether a judge set bail or ordered Vasquez held at Saturday's arraignment also has not yet been confirmed.
