Suspect in Halloween mask attacks man with axe in New York
Police asks public for tips on whereabouts of man suspected of assault
A man in a smiling Halloween mask attacked another man with an axe in New York City.
The suspect is now wanted by police after the Monday night attack when he threatened to kill a 51-year-old man and then hit his left arm with the weapon.
The suspect hasn’t yet been identified. The New York Police Department has said that he walked up to the victim around 10pm on Monday on Broadway near Columbus Circle in Manhattan.
The man ran off after issuing a death threat and hitting the man’s left arm. Police have said he ran down into the 59th Street-Columbus Circle subway station.
Emergency personnel took the victim to Mt Sinai Morningside hospital. His condition was reported to be stable and he was later released. He received a deep wound on his arm, New York Daily News reported.
The suspect was wearing a mask from the horror film The Purge when he walked up to the victim and his wife. The couple managed to grab a photo of the suspect both with and without the mask from the film.
“I don’t like you! I’m going to kill you!” he reportedly yelled at the man before striking him.
Ahead of Halloween, Amazon offered more than 300 various options of costumes from the film series, which made its debut in 2013. The fifth film in the series came out earlier this year. From 2018, it ran as a TV show on the USA network. The First Purge from 2018 took place on Staten Island in New York, the home of director James DeMonaco.
The suspect wore a dark coat, blue jeans, black boots, and a surgical mask under his Halloween mask.