Third Person Dies from Deranged Man’s Knife Attacks, Suspect Charged with Murder
Two men died at the hospital shortly after they were stabbed in random unprovoked attacks on Nov. 18. The third victim, a 36-year-old woman hung on for several hours but also succumbed to her wounds that evening. The suspect has been charged with three counts of first degree murder.
| 20 Nov 2024 | 11:09
NYC Mayor Eric Adams at a press conferene on a Nov. 18 following stabbing attack that began in Chelsea shortly around 8:20 a.m. and then the suspect attacked two people on the East Side. Two men had already died while a 36-yearold woman was clinging to life. She also subsequently died. The suspect was captured and charged with three counts of first degree murder. (
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Police officers at the scene of one of three fatal stabbings, reportedly committed by one suspect, on Nov. 18. Ramon Rivera, 51, has been taken into custody in connection with the attacks and charged with three counts of first degree murder. (
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Police cars near the site of one of multiple knife attacks on First Ave. near 42nd St., reportedly committed by one suspect on Nov. 18. A 36 year old woman who has an eight year old child was killed near this intersection by the alleged crazed knife wielder. (
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A third person has died from a deranged man’s knife attacks in three separate incidents across Manhattan on Nov. 18 and prosecutors said that the suspect “admitted in substance” to detectives that he had killed the three victims.
The suspect who was arrested on the day of the attacks was indentifed as Ramon Rivera, 51, a homeless man with a long rap sheet who has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He had been released from Rikers Island in October after serving two thirds of a sentence for burglary. According to a report on NBC 4, Rivera’s last stay on Rikers also involved several trips to Bellevue for psychiatric observation, but he was released early for “good behavior” while incarcerated.
His first victim in the spree that started on 19th Street in Chelsea shortly around 8:20 a.m. on Nov. 18th was identified as Angel Lata Landi, 36, a construction worker from Peekskill, NY. He next headed to the East Side where he is charged with stabbing 67-year-old Chang Wang who resided on the Bowery as he was fishing along the East River. He collapsed near 500 E. 30th St. Next he wandered back to First Ave. near 42nd St. where he stabbed his third victim Wilma Augustin, 36, who was living in a migrant shelter on in W. 36th St. Manhattan.
A taxi driver heard her call “Help,” and followed the suspect and was able to alert police officer Robert Garvey, who made the arrest. Adams praised the officer.
“That officer did an unbelievable job, 19 years in the Police Department, did not lose his desire to still protect the people of the city, and just really hats off.
“He ran towards danger and not away from it. And I believe he saved lives and that cab driver, I think, also saved lives at the same time by—he saw something, he said something, he did something.”
Augustin leaves behind an eight-year-old daughter.
Police said all the attacks were unprovoked.
When informed that the third victim’s address was that of a migrant shelter, Adams said: “It doesn’t matter if there was migrants shelter... It was a tragedy that should not have happened. You know, we lost a mother and an eight year old child does not have their mom. I don’t even know how you explain that to an eight-year-old child.
Adams said that one of the problems is that mentally unstable people are allowed to stay in the general population and we need a change in laws on the state level to be able to enact involuntary detainment for mentally unstable individuals.
”This is a result of not taking action and ignoring people that need help,” said Adams of the attacks. No words were exchanged between the suspect and his victims, police said. We walk past people every day that we know they do not have the ability to make the right decisions to take care of themselves,” Adams said, urging that changes to state laws are needed.
“This is the result of not taking actions and ignoring people who need help,” he said.
“We’re getting ready to go up to a new legislative session in Albany,” he said. “Let’s finally deal with—we have to take those who can’t take care of themselves off our street and give them the humane care that they deserve. You know, that is what we need to do.”
He said psychiatric beds disappeared from city hospitals after COVID and have not been replaced. “The system has been failing a long time,” Adams said. Too often when a person with mental health problems is brought to a hospital, he said, “They give them medication for a day and the next day when they calm down, they put them back on the street.”
He said laws have to be strengthened to permit involuntary admissions to mental health care and he was sharply critical of those who say involuntary admission to mental health facilities in inhumane.
“Advocating to get more psychiatric beds is imperative,” he said. “The street is not a psychiatric ward. We have to change our mindset.”
In a subsequent press conference on Nov. 19, Adams commended the taxi driver who followed the suspect after his third stabbing attack and alerted a police officer who subsequently brought him into custody.
Adams said that sometime after the first of second attack, police distributed a photo of the suspect to all police officers and told them to be on the look out.