Lighter may be spark to knife death in Village

A 28-year-old man was stabbed to death in Greenwich Village early Friday, possibly during an argument over a cigarette lighter, police said.

Samer Abdalla was walking with his brother near W. 4th St. and 6th Ave. at about 1:25 a.m., when the violence erupted.

Police said Abdalla got into an argument with three or four men, one of whom stabbed him in the upper body.

Medics rushed Abdalla to Bellevue Hospital but he could not be saved. The suspects ran off. No weapon has been recovered.

The victim’s brother told police about a cigarette lighter, but his account was vague, police said, and it wasn’t clear how it led to the stabbing.

Abdalla lived in Bay Ridge. His previous run-ins with the law included 13 arrests for charges including robbery, grand larceny and assault.

Abdalla’s partner helped to set him up with a social worker and medication to treat his bipolar disorder an illness his partner Georgia Gelmis believes was the root of his encounters with police.

“As he got treatment he changed his life around,” said Gelmis, 42. “He had a really good heart.”

On Friday, Gelmis was still trying to piece together how the night could have taken such a violent turn.

“It was over a f—king lighter. I just can’t understand it,” Gelmis said.