Midtown melee ends with stab
FedEx man held in street attack
A FEDEX WORKER repeatedly stabbed a man after the two argued just steps from the Empire State Building on Monday, police said.
Cops said the two men had a heated argument on Fifth Ave. near 33rd St. in Koreatown about 1:40 p.m., and the fight escalated.
It wasn’t immediately known what sparked the violent disagreement. Both men work in the area, according to police.
The FedEx worker, Tyquan Bailey, 22, of Orange, N.J., was taken into custody a short time later, and arrived at the police precinct sporting his uniform. He was charged with attempted murder, assault and weapon possession.
Medics took the victim, Jack Gindi, 28, to Bellevue Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition, officials said.
Neither Gindi nor Bailey (photo below) were willing to tell cops why they were quarreling, police sources said.
“We were shocked to learn about the incident in Manhattan today and our thoughts go out to the individual who was injured,” FedEx spokeswoman Ashley Allen. “We are cooperating fully with investigating authorities at this time.”
Allen wouldn’t say how long Bailey worked for FedEx, and wouldn’t discuss his job status after the stabbing.
Police said Bailey threatened another man on the same block on April 16. He bumped the 20-year-old victim in the shoulder and told him, “Do you want to start this right now? I’ll rip your f---ing head off,” cops said.
David Markovich, 29, who witnessed the aftermath, said a second FedEx truck arrived shortly after the attack to complete the man’s deliveries.
The stabbing happened just two blocks away from a Jan. 21 shooting that left three men wounded.
The alleged shooter in that case, Mahktar Diouf, 30, was busted after fleeing to Georgia.
Cops believe the shooting stemmed from a drug beef — Diouf got into an argument with a buyer, then started blasting indiscriminately, hitting his target and two other men, cops said. He remains locked up on $750,000 bail, and faces attempted murder and other charges.
Markovich, who lives in the area, witnessed that scene as well, walking up on the three victims on the ground moments after the shooting.
“If this happens one more time, I’m out of this neighborhood. I haven’t even been here six months,” Markovich said Monday.
As he came upon the scene, he thought, “Is this a shooting again? There’s no way there’s another shooting,” Markovich said.
The Midtown South Precinct, where both the stabbing and January’s shooting took place, has seen a small decrease in major crime so far in 2018, but serious assaults have spiked by more than 36 %.
The precinct has seen 60 felony assaults and 219 misdemeanor assaults as of April 15, compared to 44 felony assaults and 967 misdemeanor assaults in the same time period last year.