A hospital employee was arrested and accused of stabbing six people in a string of unprovoked attacks that sent “real fears throughout” New York City, authorities said Thursday.
Jermain Rigueur, who was born in 1996 and has no prior criminal record, was booked on suspicion of attempted murder, felony assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
The suspect works at Woodhull Medical Center in Brooklyn, had passed a background check and showed no previous signs of mental health difficulties, police said.
In one clip of security video, Rigueur’s work lanyard was visible, police said.
NYPD Commissioner Edward Caban thanked detectives and witnesses in the community for helping bring this stabbing spree to an apparent end.
“Ultimately it came down to basic detective work — chasing down leads, knocking on doors,” he told reporters on Thursday. “It was about knocking on doors. It was about walking through neighborhoods and talking to people and interviewing witnesses.”
The man’s arrest probably stopped more people from being attacked, Mayor Eric Adams said.
“He attacked six individuals and didn’t appear as though he was looking to stop anytime soon. And thank god we have no one who lost his or her life because of this incident,” Adams said. “But it did send real fears throughout our entire city so it was crucial that we have apprehended him and brought him to justice.”
Over nine days, five people were stabbed with a hunting knife in separate incidents in the Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, police told reporters Wednesday. Three of the attacks occurred that day in a span of about 30 minutes, police said.
On Thursday, police linked a sixth attack — on a J train in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Williamsburg on Wednesday — to the suspect.
On Jan. 8, at about 6:20 p.m. ET, a 61-year-old man was stabbed in the back, police said. He was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and said to be stable.
In the early hours of Tuesday, shortly after midnight, a 34-year-old woman was approached from behind while walking home and stabbed on the right side of her torso before escaping on foot. She was taken to a hospital and was stable.
On Wednesday, three men, ages 74, 41 and 36, were all stabbed in separate incidents between 7:29 a.m. and 8 a.m. Two were stabbed in the back and one was stabbed in the abdomen. All three were treated at the Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and were each stable, police said.
The last of these victims was getting on an MTA bus to work and got into an argument over a seat, according to police, who added the victim and the attacker got off the bus before the stabbing took place.
Police had described the person wanted in the attacks as being 5-foot with a dark gray jacket, black pants, black shoes and a blue mask.
The department had launched a public campaign for information on the person’s whereabouts and offered a $3,500 reward for tips in the case.
Natalie Kainz contributed.