2 court officers slashed at Manhattan Criminal Court lobby, police say
Surveillance video shows the moment two court officers were slashed with a knife Monday inside the lobby of Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City, police said.
The NYPD said a man was taken into custody after running into the lobby and charging at officers at around 9:35 a.m. inside 100 Centre St. in Lower Manhattan.
The footage shows a man taking a knife out of a bag and then running at one of the victims before turning around and attacking the other. Nearby officers quickly respond and disarm him. Moments later, an injured man is seen in the background of another video being wheeled out of the court by EMS, holding a white cloth to his face.
Police said one court officer suffered slash wounds to the face, and the other was wounded on the neck. They were released from the hospital and are expected to make full recoveries, we're told.
A third officer was injured after being thrown into a barrier. He is also expected to be OK.
The suspect, who CBS News New York has learned has 18 prior arrests, including charges related to assaulting a police officer, was arrested and taken to the fourth floor of the courthouse. Charges were pending and he remained in custody.
A spokesperson for Mayor Eric Adams said he was briefed on the situation and is "thankful for the swift actions of law enforcement to arrest the person responsible."
Attorneys describe bloody scene inside lobby
The attack unraveled in front of uniformed officers, attorneys and civilians, and brought legal proceedings to a standstill.
"I went outside with the client and my paralegal, and we heard a commotion in the lobby," criminal defense attorney Vincent Scala said. "Someone trying to get into court with a knife is concerning, for sure."
Scala said there was a commotion and he initially heard someone had a gun.
"A few minutes later, we learned it wasn't a gun, it was a knife, and then I heard he may have stabbed one or two people," he said. "I did see an officer sitting on the bank, and he was bleeding -- not profusely, but he was bleeding for sure."
Another witness described the lobby as an area where the public is screened before entering the building. He also described seeing blood on top of a desk and said he assumed there had been a fight.
"I've been coming here for over 20 years. I've never seen an incident of that nature toward the court officers," said criminal defense attorney Charles Miller. "It's very unlikely to see people try to come in with weapons, because there's magnetometers that would see them. But the overwhelming majority of what I see here are fights that happen between people in the hallway, the general public, usually that are connected in some way to the case.
"That's why the court staff is primarily here to maintain security and order. Assaults directly against them are rare," he added.
"Every courthouse needs more people"
Patrick Cullen, president of the New York State Supreme Court Officers Association, works closely with the group representing the criminal court officers who were attacked Monday. He says staffing shortages city wide are in part to blame for the attack, with 100 Center St. being at least 15% understaffed, according to the association.
"Every courthouse needs more people," Cullen said. "If somebody came in and attacked our officers right at the entrance, we could have had 100 officers there and this still may have happened, but the fact is that if we had more officers, someone would be less inclined to do this."
A spokesperson with the New York State Unified Court System released a statement in response to the allegations that says, in part, "UCS has been and continues to actively recruit, train, and onboard court officers. ... Uniformed supervisors are constantly reviewing staffing levels in all of our courthouses and, where appropriate and permissible under civil service laws and rules, adjusting staffing levels."
