Police identify suspect accused of stabbing teenager in back at New York deli

Police have identified the man caught on surveillance footage stabbing a woman in the back as she walked into a deli in Brooklyn.

According to the New York Police Department, the suspect is Osie Lewis, 20. He is wanted for assault, and the NYPD has asked for the public’s help in finding him.

“Do you know this guy?” the police force tweeted on Wednesday, with the CCTV video attached. “On 5/22/22 at approx. 6:00 PM, in front of 1091 Rutland Rd in Brooklyn, the suspect approached a 16-year-old female from behind and stabbed her in the left shoulder before fleeing.”

In the video, a man who police say is Mr Lewis, waits as a teenage girl enters the bodega, then lightly pokes her in the back with a knife. He then walks off with a strange casualness.

The victim, Dagean Wilson, 16, says she’s never met the suspect.

“I think it was just random. He didn’t know me,” she told the New York Post.

Dagean says when the attack occurred, she didn’t even know she’d been stabbed.

“I felt a sharp pain,” she recalled to the Post. “It didn’t feel like I got stabbed or anything, so I just went into the store, and two men came in and told me that I had been stabbed. They said they saw him do it.”

The two men walked Daegan home, where she told her mother what happened. She then went to a local hospital, where she was treated and released.

In the aftermath, the teen says she’s filled with anxiety every time she needs to go outside.

“I just keep looking over my shoulder,” she explained. “I’m really anxious. It still plays in the back of my head.”

In general, crime has been rising in New York City. In February, NYPD statistics showed major crimes had increased by almost 60 per cent since the same time last year.

The NYPD urges anyone with information on Mr Lewis to call 1-800-577-TIPS, or send a direct message to @NYPDTips on Twitter.