According to the New York Post, the homeless man who attacked a 36-year-old mom who was chaperoning a group of young schoolgirls in New York City has a lengthy rap sheet, having been arrested 14 times in the past 20 years. The horrific stabbing incident in crime-wracked NYC occurred on Saturday, May 11, in Times Square.
As background, the stabbing incident occurred when Amber Lohr, a mother from western Pennsylvania, left a souvenir shop along Times Square with her daughter and the other schoolgirls she was chaperoning on the trip to the big city. That’s when 61-year-old Cyril Destin, a homeless man seated at a deli at the city’s Eight Avenue and 43rd Street intersection, entered the picture.
He saw them and, approaching Lohr and the girls, stabbed her, with the knife slicing through her sweatshirt and into her chest. Heroically, Lohr managed to keep her composure as blood seeped through her slashed sweatshirt, making sure all the girls were okay. Only then did she say that she had been stabbed, with one bystander running for aid and Lohr being treated on the sidewalk before being taken to the city’s Bellevue Hospital.
Speaking to the New York Post after the incident, Mrs. Lohr’s husband described how she heroically helped shield the kids from the homeless stabber, saying, “My wife not only had taken the stabbing but should also be considered a hero by remaining in front of the children, coaching them to go backwards without turning around.”
Lohr’s husband also thanked the bystander who helped his wife, saying, “Whomever she was, thank you.” He went on to note that the “strong and fearless” schoolgirls had maintained their composure even though they were “scared out of their minds,” thanking them for doing so. He also noted that their family will not be returning to the Big Apple, saying, “We don’t feel safe there.”
Further, describing the stabbing itself, Lohr’s husband noted that the attacker had a lengthy rap sheet, saying, “A guy with a very lengthy record went out of nowhere and attacked my wife by stabbing her into the chest and within inches of her life being lost.”
The New York Post confirmed that the stabber, Destin, does indeed have a lengthy rap sheet. According to it, he has been arrested 14 times over two decades, with arrests on his record for menacing, trespass, and theft, along with other charges. Further, the NYP reported, he had a history of destructive behavior, hallucinations, and erratic behavior.
Mrs. Lohr’s husband, commenting further on the stabber, said, highlighting the danger posed by the stabber, “This man could have murdered my wife or even worse, one of the children she was chaperoning.” He added, “To think I could have been planning a funeral rather celebrating my wife on Mother’s Day is sickening to me.”
Continuing, he said, “This man will strike again and maybe the next person may not be as fortunate.” He then added that he will demand the maximum sentence possible, saying, “I will not accept anything but the max sentence for him. This man doesn’t only need to be jailed but institutionalized permanently following his well-deserved lengthy sentencing.”
Watch the footage of the incident that emerged here:
Featured image credit: By Terabass – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11848631
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