Florida man arrested in Midtown Manhattan for unprovoked stabbing that injured teen Australian tourist at McDonald's

Authorities are investigating a violent, unprovoked knife attack that left a young Australian tourist seriously hurt in Midtown Manhattan early Monday morning, per the New York Post.

25-year-old Juan Mercedes, of Florida, was arrested at the scene and charged by authorities with second-degree assault.

The incident occurred at a McDonald's restaurant situated on Eighth Avenue, close to Penn Station, sources told the outlet.

The 19-year-old victim had simply been sitting inside the restaurant enjoying a meal when the stabbing occurred at around 2 am. Without significant warning, he was attacked with a knife, suffering stab wounds to both his back and his rib cage and had to be rushed to Bellevue Hospital.

The Post described the stabbing as an “unprovoked” attack where the young man and his assailant exchanged a few words in the moments leading up to the attack. In the aftermath of the shooting, police arrested Mercedes on the scene, and he was taken into custody.

Mercedes, who is from Port Charlotte, Florida, was in jail on Monday and is set to attend an arraignment hearing. The victim, after he was rushed to the hospital, was listed in stable condition. Officials have not released his name publicly.

The stabbing comes as there have been worries about criminality in the Big Apple with Mayor Zohran Mamdani's win earlier this year and he has made numerous jabs at police. Previous to his mayoral campaign, he had said that he wanted to “defund the police,” but backed off that messaging when he ran for office.