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Homeless Man Arrested for Puncturing Man's Lung with an Ice Pick, NYPD Says

By Allegra Hobbs | July 28, 2017 1:45pm | Updated on July 31, 2017 9:59am
 Police arrested Henry German, 83, after he stabbed a man with an ice pick, causing his lung to collapse.
Police arrested Henry German, 83, after he stabbed a man with an ice pick, causing his lung to collapse.
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Shutterstock/Katrina Brown

KIPS BAY — Police arrested an 83-year-old homeless man for two attacks just months apart — one with an ice pick and another with a screwdriver — that caused both victims' lungs to collapse, according to police and prosecutors.

Henry German stabbed a man both in the neck and chest near the corner of First Avenue and 29th Street around 3:20 p.m. July 22, according to a criminal complaint, leaving the victim with a collapsed lung. 

German had wielded an ice pick in the attack, according to a police report.

The victim had a tube in his chest when he was interviewed by police, the complaint states, and had red marks on his neck and arm.

German had also grabbed a woman's throat, restricting her breathing, around the same time and place, prosecutors said.

In addition to the recent attack, prosecutors also charged German with stabbing another man with a screwdriver the previous fall.

That attack took place Oct. 15 around 1:05 p.m., near First Avenue and 30th Street, when a man picked up a cane and was ordered by German to put it down, prosecutors said.

German then approached the man, who felt a burning sensation in his chest and looked down to see that he was bleeding — he looked up to see German running away with a screwdriver, according to a criminal complaint.

The victim told police he suffered a collapsed lung as a result of the attack, according to the complaint.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner analyzed the DNA found on the cane and found it matched German's DNA, the complaint states.

German was charged with two counts of assault in the first degree and one count of criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, records show.

His was held without bail at the Manhattan Detention Complex, also known as The Tombs. He is due back in court July 28.

German is most recently listed as homeless, according to police. He has lived at the 30th Street Men's Shelter at 400 E. 30th St., which is near the site of both attacks, authorities said. He had also lived in an apartment in The Bronx, police said. 

The Department of Homeless Services said neither German nor the victim of the most recent stabbing lived in the 30th Street shelter at the time of the attack.

The NYPD handles the shelter's security, a DHS spokeswoman said, but given the proximity of the attack to the shelter, DHS responded to assist police with the arrest. DHS is working to ensure the safety of shelter residents and neighborhood residents with security upgrades, the spokeswoman added.

"To date, we’ve implemented a series of comprehensive upgrades at this location, including enhanced access controls and more than 300 CCTV cameras in and around the facility — and we are proactively engaging homeless New Yorkers both inside and outside to prevent loitering," said spokeswoman Arianna Fishman. 

"We continue to work closely with NYPD to enhance safety and improve quality of life for clients, staff, and the surrounding community. In this instance, due to proximity to the shelter, DHSPD responded immediately to the incident near the shelter and assisted NYPD with the arrest.”

German's attorney declined to comment when reached by phone.