Police say the man arrested after a stabbing spree that left two people dead in New York had been arrested eight times before

Ramon Rivera, 51, is also alleged to have “brutally” stabbed a third victim, who remains in critical condition

• Ramon Rivera, 51, was charged with first-degree murder after he allegedly fatally stabbed two men on the streets of New York City on Monday, November 18.

• Rivera also allegedly stabbed a third victim, a 36-year-old man who remained in critical condition.

• Before the stabbing, Rivera was arrested eight other times, most recently on October 17.

A man was arrested for allegedly fatally stabbing two people and wounding a third in Manhattan on Monday, Nov. 18, the NYPD said at an afternoon press conference.

Ramon Rivera, 51, allegedly fatally stabbed a 36-year-old Hispanic man and a 68-year-old Asian man. He also allegedly injured a 36-year-old Black woman. The identities of none of the victims have been released.

He has been charged with first-degree murder, PEOPLE confirms.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said witnesses claimed Rivera was wearing a gray shirt and ski hat and used a kitchen knife in the attacks. He said the motive for the stabbings was unknown and that no conversation took place at the time and no property was taken, only that the victims were “assaulted and brutally stabbed”.

The first victim was stabbed in the abdomen outside his job at a construction site on West 19th Street at 8:22 a.m. Rivera then allegedly fled southbound on Ninth Avenue. “The victim was taken to Bellevue Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 8:50 a.m.,” according to Kenny.

The second incident occurred at 10:27 a.m. at 500 East 30th Street and East River. The second victim, an Asian man, was stabbed multiple times in several parts of his body while fishing. After police responded to the 911 call, the person was taken to Bellevue Hospital and pronounced dead.

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Then at 10:55 a.m., the third victim was attacked near the UN building at 42nd Street and First Avenue. The woman was also stabbed multiple times. He was later taken to Cornell Medical Center, where he was in critical condition.

The third incident was witnessed by a taxi driver. “He believed it was a robbery. He didn’t realize he had been stabbed,” said Kenny. “Then he started following him, thinking he was a robbery suspect. A short time later, UN police on the scene at 46th Street and First Avenue near the Turkish mission were alerted by a witness that a possible perpetrator who had just committed a robbery was walking in the area.

The man covered in blood was taken into custody. Authorities found two large kitchen knives covered in blood. “He does not appear to be a resident of the home,” added Kenny.

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Chief Kenny confirmed that Rivera had been arrested eight times previously, the last of which was for grand larceny in October of this year. He was released on October 17 due to theft and assault charges. The same day after his release, he was charged with taking property from a Manhattan store. NBC4. In January, he was arrested three times in Hudson County, NJ, on mischief, burglary, and theft charges; he was indicted three times by a grand jury each time. He was arrested on seven felonies and one misdemeanor. He was also arrested in Ohio and Florida, according to NBC 4.

Rivera was also arrested three times in January in Hudson County, New Jersey, and was indicted by a grand jury on three counts, according to the Hudson County District Attorney’s Office. According to the indictments, the charges in these cases include criminal mischief, theft and theft.

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“Frankly, we have a lot of work to do on this,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. “There are some real questions we need to look at about why he was on the street. “There are some serious mental health issues that need to be looked into and that’s what we’re looking at as part of the investigation.”