A man wearing a Halloween costume with a skull mask allegedly stabbed a 32-year-old man in the stomach during an argument on St. Marks Place early Saturday, and when his mask slipped aside during the attack, it left his face exposed on surveillance cameras. The victim was taken to a hospital in stable condition. No arrest has been made.
The stabbing happened around 2:45 a.m. Saturday in the heart of the East Village, according to ABC7 New York. Police said the suspect and victim got into an argument before the suspect stabbed the 32-year-old in the stomach. Authorities released surveillance footage of the encounter, and investigators continue to search for the man seen in it.
No arrests have been announced, and the station reports the investigation remains ongoing. Police have not released the suspect's name or any further identifying details beyond what's visible in the footage itself.
A Separate East Village Stabbing
The St. Marks Place attack was not part of the same weekend as a separate stabbing the NYPD was investigating early Sunday morning, April 27, 2025, around St. Mark's Place and Avenue A, roughly 3:40 a.m., according to PIX11. In that case, two men — ages 23 and 26 — were stabbed in the back with a cutting instrument.
PIX11 reports that stabbing also stemmed from a verbal dispute, with police describing the suspect as a man with a face tattoo wearing a gray sweater and blue jeans. Both victims were taken to an area hospital in stable condition, and as of the outlet's report, no arrests had been made in that investigation either.
Pattern of Recent Stabbings Near Astor Place
The violence has extended into the subway system nearby. On Oct. 14, a man allegedly stabbed a 40-year-old on an uptown-bound 6 train near the Astor Place station at about 2:25 a.m., per amNewYork. EMS rushed that victim, who suffered multiple stab wounds, to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition. No arrests had been made in that case either, according to the outlet.
Another East Village stabbing on Dec. 31 also left a 32-year-old man injured, this time in the head and torso. The Village Sun reported that a group of three young people — two males and a female — approached the victim before one of the males got into a physical altercation with him, stabbed him, and fled northbound on Avenue A. That victim was taken to New York Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and police later released images and video of the attacker and his two companions.
Citywide Numbers Show Rising Subway Violence
The East Village cases come amid a broader uptick in transit crime across the city. Major crime across the subway system was up 1.6% so far that year, per the same ABC7 report on the search for the masked suspect. NYPD data cited in that report showed felony assaults climbing 12% and misdemeanor assaults up 16% compared to the prior year.
Six subway murders had been reported that year, compared with four the year before, according to the report. For now, the St. Marks Place case remains unsolved, with police relying on the surveillance footage — and the suspect's exposed face — to help identify him.
