HELL’S KITCHEN — A street food vendor was slashed across the stomach after a man threatened to kill him and told a large group he was with to “go after him,” said.
The 50-year-old street vendor was selling food from a cart parked in front of 671 11th Ave., near West 48th Street, around 2:15 a.m. on Sunday when Mostafa Zakareia-Elsayed, 41, of Queens, came up to him, police said.
“I am going to kill you,” Zakareia-Elsayed said to the vendor, before telling a group of 10 people he was with to “go after him,” according to the criminal complaint filed with the Manhattan DA’s office.
Soon after, two of the people accompanying Zakareia-Elsayed grabbed the vendor, with one of them slashing him across the stomach with a sharp object “several times,” the complaint said. The attack left the vendor with cuts and led him to fear for his life, the DA's office added.
Police said the vendor was taken to a hospital, but neither police nor the DA’s office provided information about his condition after the attack.
Zakareia-Elsayed was arrested and charged with one count of assault and one count of menacing, the complaint said.
A judge set his bail at $2,000 cash or $4,000 bond on Sunday, the DA’s office said.
He was released a day later after paying bail, city Department of Correction Records show. He is expected to appear again in court on April 1, according to the DA’s office.
An attorney for Zakareia-Elsayed did not immediately respond to request for comment on Tuesday.
