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Churchgoer Stabbed With Needle for Refusing to Hand Over Bracelet: Police

 A man on his way to church was stabbed in the 125th subway station with a needle by a stranger for refusing to hand over a bracelet.
A man on his way to church was stabbed in the 125th subway station with a needle by a stranger for refusing to hand over a bracelet.
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DNAinfo/Gustavo Solis

HARLEM — A man was harassed and then stabbed with a needle by a stranger who was maddened that he'd refused to hand over his prayer bracelet, police said.

The 30-year-old East Harlem man was exiting his apartment building, at 122nd Street, at Lexington Avenue, Sunday morning when he passed the unidentified suspect sitting in front of a nearby bodega, who commented on his bracelet, police said.

“That’s a nice bracelet, can I have it?” the suspect asked.

“No,” the victim responded.

The victim, who was on his way to church, then walked to the nearby 125th Street subway station on Lexington Avenue, but the stranger followed behind him, yelling and threatening to stab other passersby with a needle, police said.

The victim went into the subway station, but the suspect quickly caught up and asked for the prayer bracelet again, which the victim refused a second time, police said.

The victim then felt a sharp poke in his right lower back, police said. He turned around and noticed a needle sticking out his back, police said. The suspect then fled on foot. 

The man removed the needle and boarded his train to attend church. After the man left church he went to Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center, where he was treated and released, police said.

Police had no information on the type of needle, whether it had been used before or if the victim contracted any infection or disease.

The suspect is between the ages of 45 and 55 years old, standing about 6-foot-2 and weighing 200 pounds, according to authorities.