A resident at a New York City immigrant shelter has been murdered, while a second 27-year-old immigrant has been charged with murder over the fatal stabbing incident.
The New York City Police Department (NYPD) told media they were called to the Randall’s Island migrant shelter around 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 6 over reports there was a violent assault in progress. Upon arrival, police reportedly discovered that the 24-year-old male victim had been stabbed in the torso. Paramedics tried to save the victim. However, he was pronounced dead in a Harlem hospital soon after.
Police took a 27-year-old suspect into custody at the scene. An employee from the shelter told the media the altercation began in the facility’s dining tent. It’s alleged the fight started because the victim spoke to the other man’s girlfriend. Up to three others may have also taken part in the assault but police have not taken anyone else into custody. Security apparently prevented the man charged with murder from fleeing the scene.
In a media statement, a spokesperson for City Hall said that security personnel at the relief center would be “redoubling” efforts to keep everyone safe, while lawbreakers would face the full force of the law.
“The overwhelming majority of migrants in our care came to our city in search of a better life and the American Dream,” the spokesperson said.
“The small number of those disrupting that journey for the rest of the migrants in our care by acting violently will face enforcement to the fullest extent of the law.”
Shelter Rampant with Petty Crimes
The Randall’s Island immigrant shelter officially opened in August 2023, replacing a smaller center that had opened a year prior. Mayor Eric Adams announced at the time that the plan was to house more than 2,000 foreigners on the island amid an influx of over 161,000 unvetted immigrants flocking to the city to claim asylum since 2022.
According to immigrants who have spoken to the media, the general mood in the Randall’s Island shelter is tense because some of the residents have split into groups based on their native countries and actively dislike everyone else. Feuds have allegedly become commonplace between certain groups. Some residents of the shelter are also reportedly armed with knives for protection, and petty crimes such as theft are rampant.
This latest incident comes on the tail of another violent encounter at an East Village migrant center over the weekend. Two police were injured, and two men were arrested after a brawl broke out over somebody cutting it alone to gain entry to the shelter.
Mayor Adams has called on the White House to deliver federal support to manage the flood of migrants as New York has hit its financial limit to deal with the crisis. The influx of migrants to New York is partly thanks to the “right to shelter,” a 1981 legal mandate unique to New York that requires the city to provide temporary housing to homeless individuals.
The 1981 decree popularly known as the “right to shelter” was instituted after Robert Callahan, a cook struggling with housing insecurity, who sued the city over his living conditions. Mayor Adams’s administration has attempted to suspend the mandate, because the city is struggling to fulfill the obligation.
The Epoch Times has contacted the New York Police Department and Mayor Eric Adams’s administration for further comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times
