A 21-year-old Niagara Falls woman is being held on $250,000 bail after police say she stabbed another woman in the abdomen and thigh near 18th Street and Whitney Avenue late on October 20. The injured 21-year-old was rushed to Erie County Medical Center and has since been released, while the suspect was charged Tuesday and arraigned Wednesday.
Niagara Falls officers responded to a report of a stabbing at the intersection around 11 p.m. that night, according to WIVB. The station reported that police found the 21-year-old victim with stab wounds to her abdomen and thigh, and she was taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment before being discharged.
Police identified the suspect as Savannah Moore, 21, of Niagara Falls, and charged her with first-degree assault, per the same report. Audacy also covered the arrest, though it spelled the suspect's first name as “Savanna” in reporting that Audacy attributed to police: “Yesterday, police arrested 21 year old Savanna Moore of Niagara Falls She's been charged with 1st degree Assault.” The discrepancy between the two spellings has not been independently resolved.
Arraignment and Bail Set at $250,000
Moore was arraigned Wednesday morning, and a judge set her bail at $250,000, the station's report states. As WKBW also noted in its coverage of the arrest, the charge stems directly from the October 20 incident at 18th Street and Whitney Avenue.
First-degree assault in New York is a class B felony. Under the relevant statute excerpted by the New York State Senate, the charge can apply when a person, intending to disfigure another, causes serious physical injury to someone who was not a participant in the altercation.
A Separate Niagara Falls Case
The Whitney Avenue stabbing is separate from an earlier case in the city. In a case reported May 8, 2020, Niagara Falls police reported finding a man with a fatal gunshot wound and a woman with serious stab wounds early one Thursday in the 3100 block of 9th Street, according to the Buffalo News. That case remains distinct from the Whitney Avenue stabbing.
