Police say that a 24-year-old man was beaten with a piece of wood by a group of men and then fatally stabbed in upper Manhattan early this morning. The incident occurred outside of Lucky Seven Tapas Bar on St. Nicholas Ave. in Washington Heights around 4:30 a.m. "I heard screaming, yelling," a witness named Eddie told the Daily News. "It sounded like a huge group, they chased him down the street. It looked like he was running for his life."
The group reportedly chased the victim, beat him with a piece of wood from a pile of garbage, then stabbed him; police found him in the middle of Audubon Ave. near W. 183nd St. The victim's identity hasn't been released yet, and no arrests have been made. In 2009, a bouncer working at La Casa Del Mofongo—the bar next to Lucky 7 Tapas Bar—was fatally stabbed to death. "Those two clubs, they need to close those places down," said Eddie. "I've seen so many fights, stabbings, shootings from over there."
City Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez who represents the area said, "Tragedy struck our community early this morning, when a young man was killed in the street by a group of unknown assailants. While crime in Northern Manhattan has dropped from this time last year, we cannot allow violence to once again saturate our community as it did twenty years ago. I will continue to work closely with the 34th Precinct not only on this case, but to help identify 'hot spots' where violence is likely to occur. While we cannot bring back the life that was taken this morning, I am calling on the community to come together to find ways to prevent future violence."
