A man in Queens, New York, has been arrested on assault charges after allegedly stabbing a couple whose dog had urinated on his lawn.
Hakeem Alexander of Queens, 34, has been charged with three counts of assault after allegedly stabbing a 39-year-old man and a woman outside his home on 229th Street on April 23, ABC 7 NY reports. Authorities say the incident began when Alexander saw the couple’s French Bulldog urinating on a patch of grass near his residence in Laurelton.
Surveillance footage shows a man and woman walking their French Bulldog al
ong 229th Street near 141st Avenue just before 11 a.m. The dog appears to urinate on a patch of grass outside a neighboring home, prompting two men inside to come out and seemingly retaliate by relieving themselves on the adjacent lawn.The situation quickly escalated, with the woman striking one of the men and a chaotic altercation breaking out between the neighbors.
The footage shows the woman striking him from behind, after which he begins throwing punches at the couple, escalating into the stabbings. Authorities say the attacker slashed the woman’s left hand and stabbed her boyfriend in the back. Authorities say the suspect’s 62-year-old father was also injured, suffering a slash to the hand. The New York Police Department recovered the knife at the scene.
All three were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and are in stable condition.
“It’s really senseless to get violent and go to that extreme over something like that,” said neighbor Bobby Sauro.
Alexander was arrested and charged with three counts of felony assault, and authorities say he has no prior arrests. His arraignment was pending in Queens Criminal Court as of April 24.
The incident comes weeks after 75-year-old Linda Scott was attacked in Crown Heights after asking two women to clean up after their dogs—an assault that ended when a Navy veteran neighbor intervened.
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