A naked 23-year-old man went on a bloody stabbing rampage in his own apartment building yesterday afternoon, killing one and seriously injuring three others, before running outside to cut himself and beg to be put out of his misery, police say. Christian Falero was heard to be muttering about the end days when he got outside of the building at 812 Riverside Drive in Manhattan, but police suspect the motive for the outburst—which included stabbing one 60-year-old woman in her chest and eye—was just "psychotic." One witness recalled seeing him "walking down the street naked, covered in blood. He was just saying stuff that didn't make sense, talking about how the world was going to end."
The attacks occurred in the seven-story Washington Heights building about 4 p.m., when Falero is said to have knocked on the door of his elderly neighbors Ignacio, 81, and Margarita Collazo, 75. When they opened the door the young man allegedly stabbed them both multiple times. Ignacio, who had wounds on his head and body, died soon after. But by then Falero had moved through the building, stabbing a 60-year-old woman (in the eye) and an 85-year-old woman. He also reportedly punched a 22-year-old home attendant in the face.
Finally the madman went out to the street, pricking himself with his knife and begging to be killed. "This guy was yelling out 'If not 666, it's 777! Kill me please! Do me a favor, kill me please!'" one witness says. Instead, police who arrived on the scene subdued him and brought him to Harlem Hospital, where he was treated for stab wounds. Charges against Falero, who has no prior arrests, are pending a psychiatric evaluation.
"It was like a horror movie," a neighbor who lives down the hall said. "Mr. Collazo had blood all over his face. [Falero] lost his mind."
