A New York City Department of Education employee faces murder charges in the stabbing death of a 28-year-old woman last week in Brooklyn, authorities announced Saturday.
Katie Suarez was stabbed while jogging along the Shore Parkway greenway in Brooklyn on the evening of October 30.
His father found Suarez injured on the way. She was rushed to hospital with a stab wound to the neck but ultimately died from her injuries.
On Saturday, New York police announced they had arrested Sayed Mohassib, 27, of Brooklyn. Mohassib is charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon. Mohassib, wearing flip-flops and a red jacket, answered no questions as police took him out of the 62nd Precinct on Saturday afternoon.
The circumstances leading to Suarez’s killing were not immediately clear. It is also unclear what exactly led the police to Mohassib.
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The suspect is an employee of the New York City Department of Education. Law enforcement sources say he worked at Public School 200 in Brooklyn, and was also a member of the NYPD in field training in the Bronx from October to November 2022.
“The safety of our students is our top priority. We have suspended this individual and will terminate his employment pending the outcome of the sentencing. We support the NYPD in their investigation, even if it is necessary,” the Department of Education said in a statement.
Mohassib’s employment at the DOE raised questions from elected officials. Councilwoman Kayla Santosuosso, state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assemblyman-elect Chris McCreight said in a joint statement that Mohassib “was clearly a mentally disturbed man with no criminal record” who had been “a former New York City police officer and former Marine who was discharged from the military for psychiatric reasons.”
“What is disturbing is that at the time of the attack, he was a DOE employee, serving as a teacher’s aide at a public school,” they said. “This latest revelation raises serious questions about how he came to be employed at a local public school and warrants a thorough investigation into the circumstances of his hiring and continued employment.”
Suarez’s murder sparked shock and outrage throughout New York City, as well as an intense search by the New York Police Department for his killer.
Pedestrians traveling on the greenway reacted Saturday to the announcement of the arrest.
“I think it’s a little relief. I guess relief and hopefully potentially some closure for his family,” one person said.
Earlier this week, Katie’s anguished mother, Yasira Suarez, had asked the suspect to surrendersaying “you took an angel”.
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