UES Bank Guard Stabbed By Customer, In Critical Condition: Police

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — A private security guard at an Upper East Side bank branch was stabbed by a customer in broad daylight Friday morning and was left clinging to life, according to police.

The customer had gotten into an argument with a teller at the Chase Bank on the corner of East 86th Street and Second Avenue, according to an NYPD spokesperson. A manager came by to talk to the man, at which point he became belligerent and was asked to leave the bank, police said.

When a security guard tried to intervene, the unidentified suspect stabbed the guard in the neck inside the bank's vestibule, then fled on foot westbound along East 86th Street, police said.

The 59-year-old guard was rushed to NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, and remained in critical condition shortly before 11 a.m., police said.

While authorities initially feared he might not survive, the guard's condition had improved to stable by Friday afternoon, though his injuries remained critical, according to an NYPD spokesperson.

Police described the suspect as a man wearing a white shirt with long, curly hair.

Videos posted to the Citizen app showed police condoning off the busy corner, which sits steps from the Second Avenue subway entrance and neighborhood fixtures like Schaller & Weber and Gracie's Corner Diner.

A Chase Bank spokesperson told Patch: "Our thoughts are with the guard and his family and we are cooperating with police."

City Councilmember Julie Menin, who represents Yorkville, tweeted that she had been in touch with Chase and the NYPD's 19th Precinct about the stabbing.

"Praying for the victim and that the NYPD brings the perpetrator of this terrible attack to justice," she said.

This is a developing story. Refresh for updates.