D.A. Bragg Indicts Alleged West Side Slasher for November Knife Attack

The alleged West Side Slasher, Joshua Zinberg, has been indicted for the unprovoked Nov. 20 knife attack on a Danish tourist, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced on Jan. 21. Zinberg, 25, is charged with one count each of Second Degree Attempted Murder, First Degree Assault and Second Degree Assault. All three charges are felonies.

“Joshua Zinberg allegedly slashed an international tourist who was walking on the Upper West Side in an unprovoked and brazen daylight attack. When tourists visit New York, they should not have to fear for their safety,” said D.A. Bragg. “We will continue to prosecute those who commit random acts of violence on the streets of Manhattan. I hope the victim continues to heal from this horrifying assault.”

At press time, Zinberg, who is 5’ 11” tall and 210 pounds, is being held at the George R. Vierno Center on Rikers Island on $150,000 bail. His next scheduled court date is March 3.

The bizarre and frightening incident shocked many West Siders and others at the time, which was just two days after knife-wielding maniac—and recidivist—Ramon Rivera allegedly murdered three random strangers in a bloody spree that ranged from Chelsea to Kips Bay to a few blocks south of the U.N.

Local political leaders said the Rivera murders are emblematic of abject failures of the city’s justice and mental health systems. The Zinberg slashing is a bit more vexing as he had no prior police record. Zinberg did have a police complaint lodged against him by his mother in May 2020, relating to a threatening text Zinberg had sent her about [the disposition of] their joint bank account.

What precipitated Zinberg’s most recent alleged act of fury is unclear, but his attack, when it occurred at around 10:20 a.m. outside a 16-story apartment building at 114 W. 86th St., between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues, was swift and brutal.

According to the D.A.’s office, Zinberg ran up behind his victim—later identified as a 55-year-old former professional soccer player—slashed him across the face and ear, and then fled to his car, an orange 2024 Subaru Crosstrek, which had been parked on Columbus Avenue.

The victim, badly bleeding, was aided by a nearby building superintendent until EMTs arrived and transported him to Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital.

Surveillance photos of Zinberg running, knife in hand, on West 86th Street were posted later that day. That evening Zinberg’s mother went to the 20th Precinct on West 82nd Street and told police she recognized the slasher as her son.

At around 1 a.m. patrol cops spotted Zinberg’s car near its registered address of 170 W. 85th St.—a home he shares with his parents—with Zinberg inside it, dressed in the same clothes he wore in the surveillance photo.

The following afternoon, when Zinberg, now handcuffed and dressed in a white Tyvek coverall, was being taken from the 20th Precinct on his way to court downtown, the dazed-looking prisoner spat and ranted at reporters

“That’s all for you!” he yelled, according to reports. “Y’all already know that you don’t know s–t. You love going off that ignorance. Teach you to f–k with the Jewish Joshua!”

It will be recalled that Joshua is a major figure in the Bible’s Book of Exodus, an important assistant to Moses.