The Bobster
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Creep urinating on car slashes neck of NYC church caretaker who confronted him
A box cutter-wielding stranger stabbed a 66-year-old passerby who confronted him for urinating on a car in the East Village Sunday – leaving the wounded man clinging to life, cops said.
nypost.com
Creep urinating on car slashes neck of NYC church caretaker who confronted him
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Published Jan. 22, 2024
Updated Jan. 22, 2024, 6:56 p.m. ET
A box cutter-wielding creep urinating on a car in the East Village viciously slashed the neck of a caretaker at a nearby church who asked him to stop, the victim and cops said Monday.
The victim, identified by sources as John Mach, 54, received a lengthy gash that required 16 stitches after confronting the unidentified sicko, who was relieving himself between two cars at East 14th Street near First Avenue early Sunday evening.
“He didn’t say nothing, I just felt something hot coming down my neck then I realized I had blood all over my body,” Mach, a widower originally from Puerto Rico, told The Post Monday.
“When I felt something hot coming down my throat, I didn’t know what was going on, and they said ‘John, he cut you.’”
Mach, the caretaker at Immaculate Conception Church on East 14th Street, said he was defending the sanctity of his workplace when he approached the rogue urinator.
“He was trying to urinate between two cars, then on the wall of the church, but I can’t let that happen,” Mach said, adding that he had even offered the man the keys to the church bathroom.
5 John Mach asked the urinating offender to stop peeing on the streets. Jack Morphet
5 The 54-year-old church caretaker was slashed in the neck and required 16 stitches. Jack Morphet
Instead of taking up the offer, the alleged attacker told Mach “f—k you,” he recalled.
Mach said the “unstable” man then flew into a rage, unleashing a torrent of foul language before taking a swing at him.
“There’s children in there and older people. He started cursing at me and then he swung at me and I defended myself.”
After the confrontation turned physical, the caretaker said the deranged man then menaced him and threatened further violence.
5 The unidentified attacker slashed a man who confronted him for urinating on a car in the East Village, cops said. NYPD
5 Photos released by the NYPD show the bearded man wearing a red and black winter coat, gray hat, black pants and pushing a rolling duffle bag.
“My shift was over at 3 p.m. I stayed because he threatened two of my colleagues. He said he had a blade and was going to slice them up,” Mach said.
“He threatened me so I punched him, I defended myself, I knocked him out. I had to defend myself and the church.”
The man returned a short time later armed with a box cutter, taking Mach by surprise in a cowardly attack from behind before running away laughing, the caretaker said.
“He left, changed his clothes, and out of nowhere he came and sliced me while my back was turned helping a lady in a wheelchair down the ramp,” Mach said.
“I left the lady where she was, ripped my longjohn, tied it around my neck and chased him.”
Mach said he ran after his attacker for more than half a block, but the suspect got away.
“I did the best I could do because I didn’t want anyone else getting hurt. Thank god no one else was hurt,” he said.
Mach said he then walked to Mount Sinai Beth Hospital where he was treated and released around midnight.
“I’m in pain and I’m aggravated because I wanted to catch him myself,” he said, adding, “I believe in an eye for an eye, I’m sorry.”
5 The suspect remains at large. Google Maps
The suspect remains at large. Photos released by the NYPD early Monday show the bearded man wearing a red and black winter coat, gray hat, black pants and pushing a rolling duffle bag.
Mach said the incident reflects poorly on the NYPD, and called on cops to patrol more heavily in the area.
“New York police should do their job better. We’re at 14th and 1st, we’re in one of the main avenues of the Lower East Side, and we never see officers here.”
Asked if he’ll do anything differently from now on, Mach did not mince words.
“If you sneeze, I’m going to hurt you. I have to defend the church and the parishioners. I’m not letting anyone in the parish get hurt. I’d rather give my life.”