A homeless repeat offender, Cyril Destin, has been charged with felony assault after senselessly stabbing a tourist near Times Square. The incident occurred on Saturday evening at the intersection of West 43rd Street and Eighth Avenue. Destin, 62, was also charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.
Shocking video footage captured the unprovoked attack, which took place in front of the victim’s teenage daughter and another woman. Destin, using a walker, exited Port Gourmet Deli and lingered outside the storefront before suddenly lunging at the unsuspecting 36-year-old Pennsylvania woman with a large knife. The victim and the two women with her quickly backed away as Destin calmly returned to his seat outside the deli, displaying the knife on his lap.
Approximately two minutes later, two police officers approached Destin, successfully convinced him to drop the knife, and subsequently placed him under arrest. The injured tourist was immediately transported to Bellevue Hospital, where she received treatment for a stab wound to the chest.
Destin, who resides in a shelter across the street from the deli, has a lengthy criminal history. Over the past 20 years, he has been arrested 14 times, with his most recent arrest occurring on July 30, 2022, for criminal mischief. Previous charges on his rap sheet include menacing, petit larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, criminal trespass, and theft of service.
Sources indicate that Destin has a history of being an “emotionally disturbed person” and has exhibited erratic and sometimes destructive behavior at the homeless shelter where he stays. In December of last year, he allegedly threw a chair through a window, causing it to shatter. Authorities had to compel him into treatment at Bellevue Hospital since he refused to go voluntarily. In April 2022, he verbally threatened shelter staff and responding police officers. Additionally, in December 2019, he sought medical attention at Bellevue after experiencing hallucinations while sitting outside in the cold with swollen feet.