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Early this morning three more stabbings occurred in the South Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Since April there have been a number of similar stabbings in the area; police have reportedly said that some of the incidents may be part of a gang initiation. Sometimes the attackers have been on bikes, and sometimes they have been wielding machetes; one common thread is that the victims do not know the assailants, who have not stolen anything when they attack.
To recap, sometime in April there was a man stabbing young women in the area, the motive was apparently robbery and the suspect was eventually caught. Around this same time police presence increased in the neighborhood, and cops on the beat told us of a machete-wielding gang.
In June, the reports of seemingly-random stabbings in South Williamsburg became more frequent and usually featured the same type of scenario, with the attacker not taking anything and slashing without provocation. The following incidents all fit into the description the police gave us about the gang initiation stabbings.
June 7th, 8:30 a.m., a man was stabbed on Fillmore Place and Driggs on his way home from the gym. His attacker was on a bike, and didn't take anything from his victim.The 90th Precinct could not discuss the more recent cases when contacted today, but we've put in a request to the NYPD's press office for more information. Could this be happening now because of all the condos coming to completion in the area, as a 'welcome to the neighborhood' for all the gentrifiers signing their Karl Fischer contracts?June 14th, 6:30 p.m., a male was stabbed at Marcy and Broadway, near the JMZ stop.
July 2nd, 7:32 p.m., a male was stabbed on South 9th Street and Wythe. He had a "serious stab wound to the back" and "did not know who stabbed him or why."
July 12th, 1:57 a.m., a double stabbing occurred on South 2nd Street and Berry. "2 victims stabbed. 2 perps fled last seen on S. 3rd Street. The perps were armed with a machete."
July 12th, 2:15 a.m., another stabbing occurred at 240 South 3rd Street.
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This is performance art.
Its probably some white hipster protesting gentrification of "his" neighborhood by stabbing people.
Do a little reasearch on neighborhoods, please.
There isn't a neighborhood called "South Williamsburg"
The three stabbings last night happened on the "Southside"/"South Side".
Fillmore & Driggs is the "Northside"/"North Side", as is, obviously, the one on North 1st in April.
There is an "East Williamsburg", which is arguably a separate neighborhood and not actually a subset of Williamsburg, depending on what authority or agency you are talking to. North of Flushing, east of Humboldt.
If anything is "South Williamsburg" (not sure if this is any sort of official term anyone uses though) it'd be the Hasidic core south of Division Ave.
The one on Fillmore & Driggs was by a guy on a bike. There was a similar stabbing by a guy on a bike in LIC, for which a mentally ill guy who lived in Greenpoint was arrested.
Its not outside reason to assume he was the guy behind the one on Fillmore as well.
#3 - When was the Greenpoint guy arrested?
I witnessed an attempted stabbing near McCarren Park just last Tuesday 7/8 at around midnight. I was waiting for the bus outside of Matchless (Manhattan & Driggs), with a lot of people around, walking, smoking outside, etc. I hear a scream, there's a woman standing about 50 feet away, and a heavyset guy with a dark hoodie running away, real fast down the street, and away from the scene. The woman seemed okay, until she walked past us trembling and saying that the guy had threatened her with a huge knife. I think she called the cops because they were buzzing around the area shortly after the incident.
Someone would have to be nuts to pull that shit with so many people around. Right about now... Not feeling too cool walking on empty streets in W-Burg (or Greenpoint. or Queens.)
(The target was a 30-something white woman walking alone and carrying a large purse. Purse wasn't taken. She wasn't a hipster, thanks.)
Gang initiation?
who'd have thought i'd feel safer living in bedstuy over williamsburg? this is scaaary shit. clearly whoever's doing this has a lot of balls to be attempting shit with so many people around. i'm gonna have machete-focused nightmares!
safetybear 5:36pm:
this wouldn't happen to be a heavy-set black "kid" wearing a blue-ish shirt, would it? because i was followed by a man matching this description down some streets near mccarren park when the L train wasn't running past Lorimer last week. i managed to find a group of people walking and stay close enough to feel safe, but i was definitely being followed.
Gang initiation?
Doubtful if it's a single attacker. In an initiation members of the gang are there to witness the crime.
Wow, Bingo, you are one tough customer. Is it true that knives and machetes bounce off the cynical, street toughened skin of commenters like your own bad self who feel that the city's ever-shifting population should suddenly stop changing at the moment and in the manner of your choosing?
#7 - I didn't catch the race/age of the attacker last tuesday.
Wondering if there have been any new info/findings on these incidents.
Two teens attacked by gang with machetes in Brooklyn - Appears to have been a Southside grudge thing.
http://www.pixxiestails.com/archives/2008/07/shooting_in_williamsburg_brooklyn_7122008.html
Bongo. Yep. It is. Where. They did. Uh... Was is that are.
Okay, your turn.
#4 - @safetybear
The guy was arrested at the end of June:
http://gothamist.com/2008/06/25/serial_stabber_arrested_in_bikeby_s.php
Sell the local NYCHA property and buy more security cameras.
Thanks. Good to know one psychotic bike-riding stabber is off the streets. I think what I saw near Greenpoint/McCarren the other night was a run-of-the-mill mugger. Maybe. Lady, alone, big purse. I dunno.
Meanwhile the machete-wielding kids are still at large in the "south" streets of Williamsburg. That's some old school gang styles right there.
Is any one else really tired of the "kill the hipster and/or yuppie" mentality? It's old and useless, and it fosters ill-will and negativity towards people we don't even know. I don't understand how one can compartmentalize a person into one single category and then judge him or her on the sheer fact that they live in a particular area or dress a certain way? It's like race--there is no such thing as race (in my opinion).
I wonder if you all who are so biased against "hipsters" and "yuppies" are really that consciously angry? Isn't that just a waste of time? To be honest, it sounds like most people are merely envious of the so-called "transplants", for whatever reason. Isn't the popular crowd also the most hated? Are we in high school???
Anyways, I do understand that it is a sad thing to see one's neighborhood change and the people in it change. But there's not a major city in the world that isn't constantly changing. I hate to say it, New York, but you are not that special.
Ah! I just had an epiphany.
I think the REAL reason that there's so much animosity towards the "hipsters", the "yuppies", the "yupsters" or whatever label one chooses, is because they are all YOUNG!
Of course we are envious of their youthfulness, their blissful naivete, of the endless opportunities that growing up in this highly accessible world affords them. "They are so young! They have more years on this planet than me and I'm wasting away!"
It's not them. It's you, who have turned into a crabby, grouchy, complaining OLD PERSON (old, being completely relative).
gang initiation? heard of this kind on the bisexual site BiLoves.