By Bill Parry
A Corona man has been arrested and charged in a machete attack early Sunday morning, according to the NYPD.
Guillermo Torres, 20, was in Cibao Restaurant, located at 33-10 105th St., when he got into a verbal argument with three men, according to police. Torres left the tiny Dominican storefront restaurant and retrieved a machete, investigators said. Torres waited for the three men to exit the establishment and then he allegedly attacked them near 104-22 Northern Blvd., according to the police.
A 19-year-old man was slashed on the left shoulder and suffered a fractured left wrist. A 32-year-man had a laceration on his left shoulder while the third victim, a 22-year-old man suffered wounds on his forehead, left ring finger and left pinky, police said.
The first two victims were taken to New York/Presbyterian Hospital in stable condition, while the third was taken to Elmhurst Hospital Center in stable condition, according to the NYPD.
Torres was arrested and charged with three counts of assault and one count of criminal possession of a weapon, police said.
Earlier this month, state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst) organized a town hall meeting in Jackson Heights after a 19-year-old woman was slashed in the leg while jogging at 79th Street and 25th Avenue in East Elmhurst. During the first two months of 2016, 670 people were slashed or stabbed across the city. That represents a 20 percent increase over the same period in 2015, according to Peralta.
“It is very important that we are all aware of our surroundings,” he said. “Some of the slashings are random, while others are the result of disputes, but regardless it seems that everyday there is a slashing or a stabbing happening. I am glad the authorities have arrested the suspect who attacked the three victims on Northern Boulevard.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
