Video of a bloody fight over masks that left an Apple Store security guard in serious condition with multiple stab wounds Friday was released to the public, as crime in New York City continues to curve upward.
Shortly after 6pm, an unknown suspect stabbed a 37-year-old employee of the West 14th Street retailer in the back, forehead and left arm after refusing to follow the store's mask policy.
The 21-second surveillance footage released by the New York Police Department late Monday shows the heated altercation that led to the guard's hospitalization.
The suspect punches him in the head as they speak in a corner behind the store's spiral glass staircase, as seen in the video.
The assailant wore a black hoodie, blue jeans, black sneakers and a full black face covering.
Video from inside a Manhattan Apple Store Friday shows a suspect slapping a security guard
The video then cuts to the suspect approaching the security guard and a female employee, 25
He punches the female employee and engages in a struggle with the security guard, 37
The guard is able to pin the suspect against a wall (left) in the 21-second surveillance footage
The suspect, who appears fully masked and is still at large, reaches for something in his hoodie
The video cuts to the assailant walking briskly down the street as he flees the scene
Moments later, he punches an unsuspecting 25-year-old female employee as he reaches for the same security guard. The two struggle and the guard pins the suspect into a corner.
The suspect reaches for something in his pocket, which the guard tries to yank away. The video then cuts to the suspect walking casually out of the store.
During the confrontation, the suspect stabbed the security guard multiple times in the back, forehead and in the left arm, police said.
The NYPD say the suspect, who is still at large, became irate when the store's 37-year-old security guard enforced the store's mask policy. The Chelsea store had a sign at the entrance that reads 'masks are required,' ABC 7 News reported.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
Blood splatter remains at the scene of the brutal stabbing in the Chelsea Apple Store
Blood remains on the floor of the West 14th Street Apple Store in Chelsea after the stabbing
An NYPD officer stands guard at the Chelsea Apple Store as officers continue to investigate
Police say the suspect fled the scene on foot and ran into the 14th Street and 8th Ave subway and remains at large
The suspect fled into the 14th Street and 8th Ave subway. The 37-year-old guard was taken to a hospital where he is serious but stable.
A witness told ABC7NY he saw cops running into the back of the store and the security guard get taken out in stretcher following the attack.
'I saw him when they took him out on a stretcher, two paramedics followed by about five or six policemen, but I did see cops running in and running to the back,' witness Roberto Monticello said.
Police described the suspect as a black man in his 20s who is about 5 feet 6 tall and was last seen wearing a black mask, black sweatshirt and blue jeans.
The store's mask mandate is still in place in some businesses across the city.
New York City rules state that unvaccinated people must wear masks anywhere they can't keep 6 ft of distance, including both outdoor and indoor spaces. Fully vaccinated people need not wear one outside, but they're still required to follow business owners' rules.
Police tape in front of the West 14th Street Apple Store following the Friday night stabbing
NYPD officers were at the scene of the crime that left a 37-year-old security guard in serious but stable condition
The stabbing comes as crime in the city rose 2.6 percent overall in September 2021 compared to the same month in 2020, with an extra 243 incidents reported
New York City has some of the most restrictive COVID-19 rules after Mayor Bill de Blasio mandated that patrons show proof of vaccination for indoor dining, concerts, movies and convention centers starting in August.
In September, de Blasio ordered all city workers to return to the office and said workers will have to wear face masks in communal spaces, and choose between vaccination or weekly testing.
The order went into effect for the city's 300,000 workers, but mostly affected the 80,000 who work in offices at city agencies, like the Department of Cultural Affairs or the libraries.
Friday's stabbing comes as NYC experiences a spike in violent crime.
New crime statistics show assaults climbed 18.5 percent and robberies were up 6 percent this September compared to last, as the NYPD reveals it has made more than 3,400 gun arrests so far this year.
Stark data released by the NYPD this month showed crime rose 2.6 percent overall in September 2021 compared to the same month in 2020, with an extra 243 incidents reported.
Horrific subway attacks and gang-related gun battles are a common occurrence in the streets of the city with some boroughs being ravaged by the crime wave more than others.
Manhattan South recorded the biggest spike in crime (20.1 percent) last month compared to the previous September.
Manhattan North has also seen a rise in crime, up by 3.2 percent in the same timeframe.
Brooklyn South saw crime spike by 5.3 percent, Staten Island by 9 percent and the Bronx - where a terrifying gun fight broke out between gangs last month - by 4.9 percent.
Crime, however, has fallen in some boroughs of the city, down by 4.2 percent in Brooklyn North and down by 5.8 percent in Queens North.
In Queens South, crime fell 3.7 percent between this and last September - even though there were six murders recorded there last month.
Despite the rise in some violent offenses, NYPD Police Commissioner Dermot Shea hailed the fall in murders and shootings last month.
Murders fell by 22 percent from 59 in September 2020 to 46 last month, while shootings were down 9.3 percent from 150 to 136 in the same time.
Mayor de Blasio tried to put a positive spin on the numbers in his press briefing Wednesday morning.
A map showing the New York City boroughs where crime has increased (in red) and decreased (in green) in September 2021 compared to the same month last year
The mayor touted the rise in gun arrests as an 'extraordinary success' rather than a concerning sign of a rise in firearm use.
'It's a typical thing out there for certain folks to doubt New York City, or to doubt our ability to make a comeback, or doubt the NYPD, but the facts speak for themselves,' he said.
'Even in the most extraordinarily difficult circumstances - total disruption of our society because of a global pandemic, unprecedented - the NYPD has fought back, neighborhood folks have fought back, the city has fought back and we're seeing it in so many ways.'
He added: 'We're seeing the city come back to life.'
The mayor said things like robbery and felony crime are currently at the lowest rate in the last three decades on a year-to-date basis.
And de Blasio said things will improve further as the city continues to come back to life - through a return of tourism and workers returning to their offices.
That's part of his 'safety in numbers' theory, where larger crowds of people gathering are likely to deter opportunistic criminals from carrying out attacks.
But tourist hotspots have been at the center of some of the latest violence.
Times Square - known for flashing billboards and bright lights that draw in around 50 million visitors every year - has been the site of three shootings and a horrifying incident where a woman pushed a bystander in front of a oncoming train.
Mayoral candidate and frontrunner Eric Adams has vowed to tackle the escalating violence when de Blasio leaves office.
Last week, he said his first focus will be cracking down on guns entering the city.
Other plans include the creation of a dedicated, plainclothes anti-gun violence unit in the NYPD.
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