Man stabbed to death over game prize in New York City Dave & Buster’s restaurant
Jesse Armstrong, 41, has been arrested and charged with the murder of 39-year-old Allen Stanford
A man has been stabbed to death in a fight over a game prize in a New York City branch of popular arcade-themed restaurant Dave & Buster’s, according to authorities.
Allen Stanford, 39, died on Saturday night after getting into an argument with Jesse Armstrong, 41, inside the third-floor games room at the restaurant in Manhattan’s Times Square, the NYPD said.
The incident unfolded at around 10.44pm when Mr Stanford had turned in his winning tickets and was reaching for a prize on a top shelf, a restaurant employee told NY Daily News.
The victim accidentally knocked a drone off the shelf onto the floor, narrowly missing a small girl who was at the arcade with the suspect, they said.
At that point, the little girl and a woman believed to be her grandmother walked away but Mr Armstrong and Mr Stanford allegedly got into a fight over the incident.
As the two men threw punches at each other, the suspect pulled a huge knife from his back pocket and plunged it into the victim’s chest, the witness said.
“It was pretty brutal. [The knife] was pretty huge,” the employee said.
“They were punching each other and that’s when [the suspect] pulled out the knife from his back pocket and he stabbed him.”
The employee said the suspect then walked out of the eatery, leaving the victim dying.
“It’s wild actually. He literally just puts the knife away in his back pocket and just walks out,” they said.
Police officers were called to the scene to find the victim suffering from a stab wound to the chest.
He was rushed to St. Luke’s Roosevelt Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The suspect had fled the scene before police arrived but was quickly located close by thanks to witnesses who told police about his distinctive face and neck tattoos.
Mr Armstrong was charged with Mr Stanford’s murder on Sunday.
It is not clear if the victim knew his attacker, who has a long rap sheet.
The restaurant reopened on Sunday after a deep cleaning and New Yorkers were seen returning to enjoy the games.
A spokesperson for Dave & Buster’s said in a statement to The Independent that the company was cooperating with the police investigation.
“Our thoughts and sympathies are with those affected by this terrible incident,” the statement read.