A 17-year-old has been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of a Worcester man near New York City’s Times Square earlier this week, according to multiple media reports citing New York police and court records.
Leonides Baez, 39, of Worcester, was attacked shortly before midnight Monday near West 43rd Street in Manhattan’s Theater District, an area lined with Broadway theaters, restaurants and hotels.
The New York Police Department told multiple outlets, including NBC Boston and Boston 25 News, that officers responding to reports of an assault around 11:30 p.m. found Baez suffering from multiple stab wounds to the torso and back, along with a slash wound to the face.
Baez was transported to Bellevue Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to those reports.
Police identified Baez as a Worcester resident with an address at 600 Main St., the downtown apartment tower known as 6Hundred, according to the Telegram & Gazette and other outlets.
Authorities on Thursday charged a 17-year-old boy with murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to Boston.com.
Because the suspect is a juvenile, authorities have not publicly released his name.
Several New York outlets reported additional details that emerged through court filings. Gothamist reported the teen was one of three people who approached Baez while he was sleeping on the sidewalk before allegedly chasing and stabbing him.
Boston.com, citing court documents, reported detectives reviewed surveillance video showing the suspect allegedly pursuing Baez before the attack. The outlet also reported the suspect is accused in two other stabbing incidents in New York City.
According to Gothamist and the Shrewsbury Post, the suspect was later stopped by police in Brooklyn after allegedly jumping a subway turnstile. Investigators then connected him to the Manhattan homicide investigation.
NBC New York, cited by NBC10 Boston, previously reported investigators were searching for three suspects in the attack.
The stabbing occurred near the Stephen Sondheim Theatre and several popular restaurants in the Times Square area.
The investigation remains ongoing.
