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On June 20, 2023, 28-year-old Kemal Rideout was apprehended by New York City Police Department transit officers in connection with the unprovoked slashings of three women in the New York City subway on the afternoon of June 18, 2023.
Following the reports of the attacks, New York City Police Department began a manhunt for the accused, who had slashed the legs of three unsuspecting female victims from behind.
ABC7 New York reported that following his arrest, authorities charged Kemal of East Harlem with three counts of felony assault and took him to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.
Kemal Rideout has four prior criminal cases, including assault
As per authorities, Kemal Rideout made the three separate attacks up and down the subway system in an hour between 4 pm and 5 pm on June 20, which was also Father's Day.
According to a report by Fox News, at around 4:15 pm, the first victim, a 19-year-old woman, was slashed in the right leg from behind with a sharp object, at the 86th Street/Lexington Avenue station, while she was departing a train. NBC New York reported that the teen victim was picking up a cake for her father to celebrate the day at the time of the incident. The victim said,
"I just felt like a slice. I grabbed my thigh and I looked back and he was there. And I had the blood, and the blood was dripping everywhere."
Fox News further reported that, according to the NYPD, right after the first attack, the same individual slashed a 48-year-old woman's right leg from behind, who was waiting to onboard a southbound train. The suspect took the train before first responders reached to help the victims.
The third attack reportedly happened less than 20 minutes later, on a No. 4 train near the Brooklyn Bridge/City Hall station downtown, which involved a 28-year-old woman sitting in a southbound car. The victim had to be taken to a hospital after sustaining severe injury on her left leg.
The 28-year-old victim, who had to get 30 stitches for the wound on her leg, captured a cell phone video of the attacker stepping away from her.
The New York Post reported that Kemal Rideout has four prior cases dating back to 2008 in upstate New York, which include assault, attempted r*pe, forcible touching, and criminal mischief. Further, on June 20, 2023, Chief of Detectives James Essig, as per CBS News, told reporters,
"He (Kemal Rideout) has four priors, none of which are in New York City for forcible touching in Norwich 2016, for assault 3 again in Norwich in 2012, for attempted rape in Varick, New York, and 2011 for criminal mischief in Riverhead."
All three victims are expected to recover.
Kemal Rideout attempted to skip town with his mother
As per The New York Post, following Kemal Rideout's arraignment, his aunt said,
"He’s crazy. What they said in court — he’s like that. I didn’t know it was all this, though. I knew about his past, but this is all new to me."
Kemal's lawyer has reportedly asked for a psychiatric evaluation for her client, claiming that he was not accountable for his priors due to mental disorder or illness. Authorities informed that Kemal was arrested after he was thrown out of an M15 bus after trying to evade fare near Second Avenue and East 122nd Street.
According to the report by The New York Post, Kemal Rideout was carrying a red back, packed with clothing and toiletries, which led prosecutors to believe that he was mentally stable enough to flee with his mom while being on the lam.
During Kemal's arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court, Assistant District Attorney Bernard Eyth said,
"This denotes to law enforcement that the defendant could be making efforts to leave the jurisdiction which is why he had clean clothing, boarding a bus rather than a train which is part of the reason why we’re concerned he is a flight risk."
Defense lawyer Naima Gregory has denied the accusation of Kemal Rideout skipping town and argued that he was being taken to Mount Siani Hospital by his mother to get the help he needs.
