A 28-year-old bank teller is on life support after being stabbed twice in the neck in what investigators describe as a random attack while she was jogging in Brooklyn, New York City.
Katie Suarez was running along a well-travelled route through Brooklyn and had been speaking to her father moments before the attack. She had been training for the upcoming New York City marathon, due to take place in two days.
Attack on a Familiar Route
Katie and her parents had arranged to meet outside her workplace following her run, as was customary for the family. Katie told them over the phone that she was roughly a five-minute jog away, but she never arrived.
Katie had met up with her mother shortly after finishing work at around 6.30pm. The mother and daughter met near the TD Bank where Katie worked in a shopping plaza. Katie's father would ordinarily join them but was running behind schedule on Friday evening.
Katie had already changed out of her work attire and into her running gear, handing her clothes to her mother before setting off on a solo run. She ran along the Belt Parkway westbound toward the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
Discovery and Aftermath
At approximately 8pm, her father telephoned their daughter to discuss a suitable meeting place. Katie responded that she was roughly half-a-mile distant, approximately a five-minute run for her. Nothing alarming emerged during the telephone conversation.
Shortly afterwards, when Katie failed to arrive at the agreed location, her father rang her once more. On this occasion, she did not answer. The parents separated to search for their daughter, who was discovered by her father.
Katie was found stabbed twice in the neck, on both her right and left side near Bay 17th Street and Shore Parkway, before her father desperately urged a passer-by to contact the emergency services. Detectives believe the assault was random with no sign of a sexual or robbery motive, as her pink mobile phone and jewellery remained with her.
It is understood that Katie ran another 100 feet following the attack, before collapsing. Photographs from the distressing scene revealed blood spattered on a nearby guardrail. Katie is currently receiving treatment at New York University Langone Hospital.
Community Reaction
"It's going to come to light whoever truly did it," the victim's cousin, Gianluca Frances, 19, told The Post on Sunday, speaking outside the hospital.
He indicated that Katie may have been training for the marathon, describing the situation as "truly an awful, awful time" while calling for "the worst" to befall the individual responsible for attacking his cousin.
The following day, Saturday, a neighbour remarked: "It's very sad. I'm sad for everybody, but this is close. It's too much right now. It's a mad world."
Katie had been employed as a teller at the bank branch for over five years, according to her LinkedIn profile. Reports indicate that Katie frequently ran along the path, which boasts stunning views of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Staten Island. The route is equally well-frequented by walkers, joggers, bikers and fishermen.
