The recent stabbing incident at Grand Central Terminal has raised concerns about the release of the suspect, Steven Hutcherson, who had previously threatened a man after he witnessed him attacking a woman in the Bronx just a month ago.
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Yussif Abdullahi, the victim in the Bronx case, recounted his encounter with Hutcherson on November 7. Abdullahi, who had been working outside a freight truck depot, witnessed Hutcherson allegedly attacking a woman. Suddenly, Hutcherson turned his aggression towards Abdullahi, making racially charged threats and brandishing what appeared to be a gun. Despite the terrifying ordeal, Abdullahi initially believed that Hutcherson might be under the influence of drugs or experiencing a mental health crisis, he told the New York Post. “I’m gonna shoot you. I don’t care what kind of green card the government gave you. Open your mouth and say something. I will shoot you right now,” Hutcherson said to Abdullahi when he approached him.
“I was thinking maybe he was just saying it and didn’t mean it,” he continued. “He pulled a gun on me and said, ‘I don’t care what kind of green card you have, I’m gonna shoot you right now!” Hutcherson was arrested and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, menacing, harassment, and assault. However, he pleaded guilty to third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, and was given a conditional discharge by Judge Matthew V. Grieco on December 12.
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Abdullahi expressed disappointment with the police response during his encounter with Hutcherson, as well as the lenient sentence given to him: “I’m so disappointed in the cops. When he was threatening me, he told me, ‘The cops don’t do s–t! They don’t do s–t!’ And what he said was true. The cops didn’t do anything,” He believes Hutcherson should’ve been institutionalized and received treatment for his apparent mental health struggles.
Hutcherson was previously classified as an “emotionally disturbed” person during his encounters with police and had multiple charges for weapons possession, which included entering a Bronx stationhouse and acting hostile.