NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – A man was stabbed in the abdomen in front of the Randall’s Island migrant shelter on Sunday, police confirmed.
The stabbing occurred after an argument broke out around 10:30 a.m. An unidentified man then stabbed a 26-year-old man. The victim was taken to Harlem Hospital in stable condition.
It was not immediately clear what the argument started over or whether the two involved are migrants. The identity of the victim was not released.
An investigation is ongoing, and the suspect, who was last seen wearing all black, fled the scene.
Police last week raided the Randall’s Island migrant shelters in search of guns and drugs, but the operation yielded nothing, resulting in a review of the residents’ rights by the Legal Aid Society.
Public safety concerns and recent killings—including a triple shooting on Aug. 1 that left shelter resident Sandra Serrano, 44, dead—prompted the raid for “dangerous contraband.” Sources told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880 that cops were searching for indications of any illegality, including potential gang activity.
“The safety and security of all New Yorkers, and every single person in our care, is our top priority,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry wrote on X, announcing the raid.
No contraband was recovered, and no arrests were made, police said.
“It was not based on a concern about health and safety,” Legal Aid Society attorney Josh Goldfein told 1010 WINS/WCBS 880. “It was because they were looking for something that they didn’t find.”
The Randall’s Island complex houses nearly 3,000 people within its five large tents, the largest asylum seeker shelter in the city.
Despite concerns among police and the public about asylum seeker crime, the data does not support that there has been a “migrant crime wave.”