New York City Police released images of the suspect in a brutal attack that left a Hispanic McDonald’s employee in a coma after being stabbed in the chest, neck and arm as he tried to break up a dispute.
New video released by authorities shows 28-year-old Ezekiel Dunn identified by the department as the suspect who stabbed the victim with a knife at the East Harlem fast food restaurant early Wednesday morning.
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NYPD
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The suspect entered the fast food restaurant in Third Avenue and East 117th Street around 12:45 a.m. and attempted to place an order with a cashier before going to a kiosk to do so, according to a senior NYPD official with direct knowledge of the incident. Shortly after, she went back to the counter to start arguing with the cashier.
Police said the victim heard the commotion and came out of the kitchen with a stick.
At that point, he was attacked with a box cutter which left the place covered in blood from behind the counter to the lobby. The victim was stabbed multiple times, a senior NYPD official said.
The suspect was last seen wearing a ski mask while running west on 117th Street. No arrests have been made.
The husband of an employee who rushed to the scene fearing his partner was in danger, told our sister network News 4 that he thought the argument involved an unruly customer, but police say that element of the case remains under investigation.
The victim’s sister, who was at McDonald’s on Wednesday to pick up her things, said he is in a coma so she hasn’t been able to talk to him, but said she raised concerns about working late at night. She also confirmed that his mother was on her way to the city from the Dominican Republic to help out where she could.
McDonald’s released a statement Wednesday saying it was “shocked and appalled by this senseless and unprovoked attack on one of our employees.”
“The safety of our employees and customers is our highest priority. We will continue to cooperate with the NYPD and support our colleague and friend as they recover,” the statement from owner/operator Bruce Colley said.
The bloody stabbing at McDonald’s occurred just blocks from where a cashier at A 19-year-old Burger King was shot to death, allegedly by a former restaurant worker, during an attempted robbery earlier this year.
Anyone with information about the McDonald’s case can confidentially call authorities at 1-888-57-PISTA.
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