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Police nab suspect in child stabbings in S. Ozone Park

By Sarina Trangle

Police cuffed a 27-year-old ex-convict in South Ozone Park Wednesday evening after the mayor and the police commissioner requested help finding the man suspected of stabbing a child to death and seriously injuring another in Brooklyn last weekend, the NYPD said.

Daniel St. Hubert, 27, was taken into custody near 133rd Avenue and 145th Street in South Ozone Park at around 8 p.m. Wednesday, the Police Department said.

Hubert, who police said was released from prison May 23, was caught shortly after Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner William Bratton publicly identified him as the suspect, according to published reports.

Police said Hubert is believed to have stabbed 6-year-old Joshua Avitto to death inside an elevator in East New York’s Boulevard Houses Sunday. The victim’s friend, a 7-year-old girl, was also stabbed in the torso and brought to Brookdale Hospital in critical condition, police said.

Hubert, who police said served time for assault and attempted murder, is also being eyed in the attack on a homeless man, who police said was slashed on a No. 1 train platform in Chelsea Wednesday.

The NYPD said Hubert has not yet been charged with any crime.

As of 1 p.m. Thursday, police were putting him in the lineups.

Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at [email protected].