A 69-year-old man was stabbed to death near the 90th Street 7 train station in Queens in broad daylight yesterday afternoon. The suspect has been charged with murder as a hate crime; police sources tell NBC New York he attacked because he believed the victim was gay.
Steven Torres, 22, was taken into custody after witnesses chased him for blocks in Elmhurst. Witnesses say that Torres attacked Ever Orozco with a knife at least six inches in length.
Julio Lobaton told WABC 7, "I really don't know what to think. I'm just shaken because what happen to this poor guy... He was screaming, 'Help me help me.' I tried to intervene, but then he pulled a knife and started stabbing the guy on the floor. Then he went up about three steps came back."
Another witness, Edwin DeJesus, said, "He was stabbing him right in the chest. The elderly man was on the floor and he was stabbing him right in the chest."
In addition to the murder charges, Torres was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.
