Three stabbings in Times Square in a month and random street attacks leave New Yorkers ‘watching their backs’

A recent wave of violent crime in and around New York City’s Times Square has put people on edge.

Over the last month, there have been at least three stabbings in New York City’s most crowded and brightly-lit area.

Last Monday, two sightseers, a man and a woman, were attacked by a knifeman while they were waiting for a tour bus near 42nd Street and Eighth Avenue.

A woman named Tatiana Valerie said on social media that she walks in that area ‘every day’ and decried how ‘NYC has become so dangerous.’

The assailant, who police say was 43-year-old Robert Kerri, stabbed the male victim once in the torso but he was saved by his thick winter coat, according to the New York Police Department (NYPD).

The female victim, meanwhile, was slapped in the face and knocked to the ground. It was not clear if the man and the woman knew each other, but both refused medical treatment and walked away with minor injuries.

The same cannot be said for Daevon Silva, 23, who was stabbed and beaten to death with a baseball bat on November 24 by three men in what police said could have been a drug-fueled attack. The murder occurred after 1am near 49th Street and Seventh Avenue.

And on November 15, a homeless man was stabbed twice in the middle of Times Square. The man survived and police have not caught the suspect.

Times Square, one of the busiest urban areas in the world, has had three stabbings in the last month

Nick, a 60-year-old man running a pop-up sneaker shop, told Daily Mail ‘you have to watch your back’

A man in a giant gorilla costume beats his chest in front of a Spider-Man impersonator wearing a Santa hat

This trio of attacks at the tourism hotspot known as ‘The Crossroads of the World’ came amid a spate of other random attacks in the city.

A 45-year-old man was stabbed twice in the back at the Union Square Station on Wednesday after getting into a verbal dispute with another rider. Police are still searching for the suspect.

At the Macy’s on Thursday, police say Kerri Aherne, 43, stabbed a 38-year-old California woman in the back and arm.

The victim was taken to the hospital in stable condition. Aherne was charged with attempted murder, assault and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the NYPD.

And on December 1, a young New York University student was thrown to the ground by a homeless man. The man, later identified by police as 45-year-old homeless man James Rizzo, was seen yanking her by the hair.

There were plenty of reactions on social media, with Anthony B. Martino writing: ‘So many wackjobs out there shooting and stabbing people!!! My God!!’

‘The city is unsafe and the result of poor leadership,’ Robert Von Bernewitz said.

Michael Alel wrote: ‘This is just the beginning of a comeback of 80s (former mayor) Dinkins dark era #2 for NYC. Welcome to Mamdani free for all.’

Tourists look up at the billboards that line the buildings in Times Square

NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani used to champion defunding the police, but has now pledged to keep staffing levels the same

The Daily Mail spoke with New Yorkers and tourists in Times Square, that sees around 360,000 pedestrian visitors a day, on Thursday about the latest attacks.

A man named Robert, who spoke as he waited for a bus, said the NYPD ‘should do everything can to stop’ crime.

‘I don’t know if it’s the greatest at night [in Times Square],’ said Robert, who declined to give his last name. ‘You have to watch your back.’

Just before his bus downtown showed up, he added that he was ‘not crazy about’ incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani’s approach to reducing crime in the city, which in part, involves sending mental health teams to confront people having breakdowns so police officers can focus on more serious offenses.

Mamdani used to champion defunding the police, but has since walked those comments back and has pledged to keep staffing levels the same. He has also promised to keep Jessica Tisch on as police commissioner.

But despite people’s fears, the statistics paint a different story. Under Tisch’s tenure, which began in November 2024, there have been significant drops in shootings, murders and transit crime.

In Midtown Precinct South – which encompasses all of Times Square, Grand Central Terminal, Penn Station, Madison Square Garden, Koreatown section, and the Manhattan Mall Plaza – there have been two recorded murders this year, according to the NYPD. Last year, there were four.

Robberies fell about 15 percent, to 329 in 2025 from 389 a year earlier, while grand larcenies dropped roughly 16 percent, to 1,629 from 1,929.

The attack on an NYU student was captured on surveillance camera footage. The moment the suspect allegedly assaulted her is pictured

Felony assaults, however, ticked up 1.8 percent to 516 when compared to last year’s 507. Burglaries jumped 22.6 percent to 407 from 332 last year.

And despite the focus on keeping subways safe by Tisch and Mayor Eric Adams, there have been 171 transit crimes so far in Midtown South, as opposed to last year’s total of 159.

A man named Nick, who was operating a pop-up sneaker store at the Times Square holiday market, agreed that this year has generally been ‘a lot better’ when it comes to crime.

Nick, 60, runs Jimmy’s Shoes, a reference to a character on Seinfeld who constantly refers to himself in the third person and sells shoes that make him jump higher.

‘Last year, it was terrible. It was scary out here,’ Nick told Daily Mail. ‘There were knives, attitudes, people threatening each other. We had to work with a baseball bat.’

When asked about the approach of Mamdani, who will take office in the new year, Nick said, ‘If he defunds, it’s not good. There’ll be less tourism in the city.’

But not everyone is living in fear, right in front of the iconic TKTS steps, where people dressed in Spider-Man and Elmo costumes gather every day, Kelsey Maleska told the Daily Mail that she felt fine walking the streets.

Maleska, a 33-year-old woman from Ohio, had a general awareness of the crime that goes on in New York City.

Under police commissioner Jessica Tisch’s tenure there has been a significant drop in shootings, murders and transit crime

Kelsey Maleska, a 33-year-old woman from Ohio, told the Daily Mail on Thursday that she wasn’t concerned about crime but understood you can be victimized ‘anywhere, at any time’

‘I’m not concerned,’ she said. ‘It can happen anywhere, at any time.’