Police said the attacker fled on a bicycle after an early morning confrontation outside a Manhattan shelter.
NEW YORK — One man was killed and another was wounded in a double stabbing outside a homeless services center in Hell’s Kitchen early Thursday, and police were searching for a suspect who rode away on a bicycle after the attack.
The violence unfolded just before dawn outside the Urban Pathways drop-in center on Ninth Avenue, adding urgency to an investigation that was still taking shape by midafternoon. Investigators were working to identify the dead man, confirm how the confrontation began and determine whether the people involved had any connection to the shelter.
Police said officers responded just after 4:45 a.m. to a report of an assault outside 771 Ninth Ave. near West 52nd Street. There, they found two men with multiple stab wounds. One man, believed to be in his 30s, had been stabbed several times in the torso. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A second man, 34, suffered multiple stab wounds to the abdomen and was hospitalized in stable condition. By Thursday afternoon, the name of the man who died had not been released.
Authorities said the suspect fled southbound on Ninth Avenue on a bicycle. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket and blue pants. No arrest had been announced Thursday, and investigators had not publicly identified a motive. Early reports indicated the confrontation may have involved a dispute connected to bicycles parked outside or near the scene. Surveillance video from a nearby deli appeared to show several men gathered around bicycles shortly before the stabbing. Officials had not said whether the recording captured the full encounter or only part of what led to it.
The setting added another layer to the case. Urban Pathways is a nonprofit organization that serves people experiencing homelessness, and the attack happened outside one of its facilities in a busy stretch of Hell’s Kitchen lined with apartment buildings, restaurants and storefronts. Police had not said whether the two victims or the fleeing man were clients of the center. That unanswered question remained central because it could shape how investigators reconstruct the moments before the stabbings and whether the clash grew out of a personal dispute, a random encounter or an argument tied to property.
For detectives, the next steps were familiar but time-sensitive: identify the dead man, interview the surviving victim when possible, review surveillance footage from nearby businesses and track the route taken by the cyclist who left the scene. Investigators also were expected to canvass the block for witnesses who may have seen the men before the attack or heard the argument escalate. As of Thursday, police had not announced charges, released a weapon description or said whether they believed the suspect knew the victims.
By daylight, police tape and patrol vehicles marked off part of the block as officers moved in and out of the area. Commuters and workers passed the scene while detectives examined the sidewalk and nearby storefront cameras. The violence stood in sharp contrast to the normal rhythm of the avenue, where traffic, bicycles and foot traffic usually begin building early in the morning. Officials were left with a narrow known timeline, two badly wounded men and a suspect who disappeared into the neighborhood before officers arrived.
As of Thursday afternoon, one man was dead, another remained hospitalized in stable condition and no arrest had been made. The next major step was the NYPD’s effort to identify and locate the cyclist seen leaving the block after the attack.
Author note: Last updated April 23, 2026.