Mom identified own son as NYC slasher suspect from CCTV images after tourist knifed in face

The mother of the man who allegedly attacked a tourist in New York‘s Upper West Side Wednesday morning reportedly told the NYPD that her son was responsible for the stabbing after she recognized him in surveillance footage released by police. In the footage, the man — now identified as Joshua Zinberg —is seen running through the streets of the Big Apple with a knife in hand.

According to police, the video was captured after Zinberg, 25, went up to a middle-aged tourist and slashed him in broad daylight. Officers with the NYPD stated that the tourist’s left ear and left cheek were slashed during the brazen attack and that they had been transported to the hospital.

Shortly after the attack, Zinberg was captured fleeing the scene wearing a dark grey shirt, dark pants and white running shoes while carrying a knife. It was reported by Fox Digital that the man’s mother called the police after they had issued a plea for any information on the attack.

NYPD officers told the outlet that shortly after his mother called, Zinberg was charged with second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon. It was reported by Fox that upon leaving the police precinct on Thursday, the man seemed to be spitting at reporters and at one point bizarrely stated, “You do it for the clicks, huh?”

The daytime attack comes two days after a homeless man in New York went on a random stabbing spree that left two men dead and one woman fighting for her life. Police arrested an unidentified 51-year-old homeless man after a tip from a cab driver, NYPD Chief of Detectives Joe Kenny said at a press conference.

According to police, the man, who is a resident of the Bellevue Men’s Shelter, is the only suspect in the attacks. According to police, the gruesome stabbing spree began at 8:20 a.m. when the 51-year-old killer approached a construction worker, 30, on West 19th Street near Eighth Avenue and stabbed him in the stomach. He was taken to a local hospital where he died.

Police stated that the suspect fled down Ninth Avenue, police said, and two hours later he knifed a man in his 60s multiple times on East 30th Street. Like the first man, he was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his wounds. Finally, around 11 am, the deadly attacker stabbed a woman in the chest at East 42nd Street and First Avenue close to the United Nations building.

Officers managed to move in and capture the man thanks to a tip from a cab driver who witnessed the attack and followed the suspect. It was reported that the woman was taken to a local hospital and is in critical condition. Police were able to apprehend the suspect, who had eight previous arrests, and found two knives at the scene.

Police believe the stabbings were random. “Today, we have three innocent New Yorkers, just going about their lives, who were the victim of a terrible, terrible assault,” Mayor Eric Adams said. “It is a clear, clear example of the criminal justice system, mental health system that continues to fail New Yorkers.”

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