By Anna Gustafson
Standing at the makeshift memorial for a 41−year−old man who police said was fatally stabbed a little before 8 p.m. Sunday night on Metropolitan Avenue in Kew Gardens, residents were shocked to learn of the murder that took place in what they considered a safe neighborhood.
“I’ve lived here for 26 years, and we’ve never heard of anything like this,” Kew Gardens resident Farida Shah said, standing by the red and blue flowers and burning candles tied to an iron fence inches from where the man was stabbed. “It’s very quiet here. Women feel free to walk down the street very late at night.”
Police have not released the name of the man they said was stabbed with an unknown object outside an apartment building at 118−55 Metropolitan Ave.
According to police, the victim had gotten into a dispute with the suspect, a male in his 30s, who fled the scene. After the argument escalated and the 41−year−old was stabbed, police said they found him lying on the sidewalk. The victim was taken to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
Police were still searching for the suspect.
Residents who gathered at the memorial on the tree−lined street stared at the dried puddles of blood and said the incident was a blemish on what they deemed an unusually calm neighborhood.
“When my husband came home at 12:30 in the morning, he said something must have happened because there were a lot of police outside,” said a resident who lives across the street from the crime scene and who wished to remain nameless. “I was surprised to hear that because this place is so safe. I have been living here for 28 years and things like this do not usually happen here. It’s very safe.”
