A 43-year-old man was slashed in the face outside 3748 3rd Avenue in the Bronx's Claremont Village on September 16 after a robber tried to snatch the jewelry off his neck and he refused to give it up, according to the NYPD. The suspect, described by police as around 30 years old and dressed all in black, fled south on 3rd Avenue and remains at large.
Investigators say the attacker first demanded money from the victim before grabbing for jewelry around his neck, then slashed him in the face when he wouldn't hand it over, as reported by News12 Bronx. Paramedics rushed the victim to St. Barnabas Hospital, and police say he is expected to recover. The hospital at 4422 3rd Avenue is a state-designated Level II Trauma Center with round-the-clock emergency surgical care that cares for more than 1,200 trauma patients each year, according to SBH Health System.
A Violent Stretch for Claremont Village
The slashing is the latest in a string of violent incidents to hit the neighborhood within days of each other. Just two days earlier, on September 14, a 17-year-old boy was stabbed outside a school building at 240 East 172nd Street by two suspects wearing all-black clothing who fled northbound on Sheridan Avenue, according to FOX 5 New York. And on the very same day as the 3rd Avenue slashing, a 35-year-old man was robbed at gunpoint in nearby Claremont Park after meeting a woman he'd connected with through social media, Hoodline previously reported.
The NYPD's 42nd Precinct is headquartered at 830 Washington Avenue.
Not the First Robbery on This Block
The stretch of 3rd Avenue where the slashing occurred has seen trouble before. Commercial property at 3738-3748 3rd Avenue was the site of a reported robbery back in May 2018, when a suspect demanded cash inside a storefront juice bar on the block before fleeing, according to the Bronx Times. Similar robbery-related violence has struck Claremont Village before, too — in July 2024, a 43-year-old man was stabbed multiple times on East 169th Street and Morris Avenue after refusing to surrender his bag, fighting back before he was hospitalized, per News 12 Bronx.
The run of violent incidents clustered around Claremont Village this month has clearly rattled a neighborhood that was already grappling with knife violence.
Potential Charges If Suspect Is Caught
If arrested, the suspect could face serious charges.
The NYPD is asking anyone with information to call its Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The Crime Stoppers program, run alongside the nonprofit New York City Police Foundation, offers cash rewards of up to $3,500 for anonymous tips that lead to an arrest and indictment, according to the New York City Police Foundation. No arrests have been announced in the 3rd Avenue slashing as of publication.
