WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Police are still searching for suspects after a Marine was stabbed in the neck by a group of six men late last year, police said.
The 21-year-old victim was attacked in front of 206 Audubon Ave. on Christmas Eve around 2:45 a.m., after he asked one of the suspects for a lighter, the NYPD said. The man he asked responded by punching the victim before the six other suspects joined in on the beating, police said.
During the attack, one of the men pulled out a blade and stabbed the victim several times, leaving him with a slash wound on the left side of his neck, police and the Manhattan District Attorney's office said.
The neck wound led to heavy blood loss, and the man was treated at Harlem Hospital.
In January, authorities arrested Frank Francisco, 33, and Ramon Reyes, 20, charging both with attempted murder and gang assault, officials said.
Francisco was arrested in 2001 for assault and again in 2009 on drug charges, authorities said. He was released in May 2015.
Police are still searching for the three remaining suspects, and anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).
These 3 individuals are wanted in connection with a violent assault that occurred in #Wahi.#Crimestoppers pic.twitter.com/x7aH82ohqY
— NYPD 33rd Precinct (@NYPD33Pct) February 18, 2016
