Lower East Side Man Slashed in Face at 2:20 P.M., Suspect Still on the Run

A 38-year-old man was slashed across the face just after 2:20 p.m. Sunday at 1st Avenue and 1st Street on the Lower East Side, leaving him with a wound to the jaw and sending him running across the street begging for help before EMS rushed him to Bellevue Hospital. The suspect fled and remains at large, with no arrests made as of Sunday evening.

According to amNewYork, officers from the NYPD's 9th Precinct responded to the NYC Express Deli at 18 1st Avenue after reports of the attack, where a suspect reportedly wielded some kind of sharp instrument against the victim. Police set up a crime scene stretching from the deli to a nearby M15 bus stop, and a bloody tissue was found on the ground amid the investigation.

A deli worker told the outlet they saw the victim run across the street pleading for help immediately after the attack. A nearby barber, also cited in the report, said the victim was known to frequent the area and would often beg for money outside the deli — a detail echoed by the deli worker, who described him as a homeless man who typically sits outside drinking. Authorities listed the victim in stable condition following treatment.

Victim Uncooperative as Investigation Continues

Sources familiar with the investigation say the victim has been uncooperative with police, complicating efforts to piece together what led to the attack or whether the assailant and victim had any prior relationship. That silence does not necessarily stall a prosecution, however. Under New York criminal procedure, prosecutors can move forward with felony assault charges even without a cooperating victim, leaning instead on physical evidence, surveillance footage, 911 recordings, and the observations of responding officers, as Hoodline has previously reported.

The legal stakes for whoever is eventually identified are significant. Intentionally causing physical injury with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument is classified as second-degree assault under New York Penal Law, a Class D violent felony that can carry up to seven years in state prison. If the slash is found to have caused serious permanent disfigurement, prosecutors could pursue first-degree assault charges instead, a Class B violent felony with a mandatory minimum of five years and a maximum of 25 years behind bars.

Part of a Broader Pattern of Street Violence

The attack adds to a string of recent violent incidents tracked across the Lower East Side and neighboring East Village. Just weeks earlier, on July 18, a 37-year-old man was struck in the head with a blunt object outside a restaurant strip at 23 St. Marks Place, an East Village attack that remains unresolved. In June, a 32-year-old man was slashed in the arm during a 2 p.m. dispute on the platform at the Second Avenue subway station, and in January a 25-year-old man was slashed across the face along the Orchard Street nightlife corridor in the neighboring 7th Precinct.

Citywide, felony assaults have become the outlier crime category even as shootings and homicides continue to fall. New York City averaged more than 80 felony assaults per day during the first half of 2026, a figure up over 40% from 2019 levels, according to Vital City. Locally, however, the 9th Precinct has bucked that trend: NYPD CompStat figures through late July show reported felony assaults in the precinct down 19.6% year-to-date, falling to 78 cases from 97 over the same period in 2025.

Search for Suspect Continues

The victim was treated at Bellevue Hospital, Manhattan's flagship Level 1 Trauma Center, which handles more than 103,000 emergency room visits annually with round-the-clock surgical capabilities. Investigators have not said whether nearby security cameras captured the suspect's escape route or whether the weapon used in the attack has been recovered.

Anyone with information can call NYPD Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS, where tips can be submitted anonymously and may be eligible for a reward of up to $3,500 through the New York City Police Foundation for information leading to an arrest and indictment. The investigation remains ongoing, and no arrests had been announced as of Sunday evening.