20-year-old returning home from Pride festivities stabbed at Staten Island Ferry Terminal
STATEN ISLAND -- Dylan Spinosa's right arm is in a sling, and his upper back is bandaged.
"Last night it was a little harder to breathe, and any movement didn't feel good," he said.
The wound, police say was the result of an attack at the Staten Island Ferry Terminal around 8:45 Sunday night.
The 20-year-old and his friends had just finished celebrating Pride in Manhattan. They were waiting for a bus when Spinosa says a man, who appeared to be drunk, started harassing women.
"He was talking to women sexually...as he walked past us, he was saying that to my friends, and we were like 'go home, you're drunk,'" said Spinosa.
Spinosa says another good Samaritan, who police identify as a 30-year-old man, also intervened.
Authorites say the suspect, 47-year-old Eric Shields, punched the Good Samaritan in the face.
"I put the guy in a headlock and told him 'relax it's over -- cut it out,'" Spinosa added.
Spinosa thought the fight had cooled down.
"He charged at us, and I only noticed, because my friend screamed. Just felt like he punched me, and my back was soaked," he said.
Police say Shields use an anti-gay slur during the knife attack.
"It's upsetting, I don't understand how people can think they are above somebody else," Spinosa said.
Spinosa and the other man who intervened were taken to Richmond University Medical Center in stable condition.
Marisa Spinosa was just grateful to have her son home.
"I'm very proud of him for helping somebody. I was worried when it happened, cause these days you don't know what people have with them," she said.
Authorities say Eric Shields is no stranger to police. He was charged with assault, weapons possession, menacing, and harassment.
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