Search for 2nd suspect continues in caught-on-camera Manhattan machete attack

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Thursday, January 16, 2020
Search for 2nd attacker in NYC machete attack
Derick Waller reports from East Harlem with exclusive surveillance video of the attack.

EAST HARLEM, Manhattan (WABC) -- A teenager is lucky to be alive thanks to the quick actions of NYPD officers in East Harlem, even as authorities continue to search for a second suspect.

Video obtained by Eyewitness News shows a 19-year-old running for his life as he was being chased by two men on Third Avenue near East 106th Street early Saturday.

One of the attackers appears to be holding a machete, and they struck the teen three times on his arms before he escaped into a store.

The worker locked the door and called police.

Officers took out tourniquets and applied them to each arm before driving the victim to the hospital.

A neighbor who witnessed the attack said he is angry.

"When people see stuff like that, step in and advise the other person you know you're about to do something real bad to that person," Carlos Ortiz said. "You're about to go to jail. Think about it before you do it.."

The NYPD tweeted praised for the officers from the 23rd Precinct who responded, using their tourniquets -- a tool only added to their belts about two years ago -- to stop the bleeding.

Those officers also made an arrest in the case, and 19-year-old Abner Suazo faces charges of assault, criminal possession of a weapon and menacing.

Suazo was arrested twice in 2019, once for assault in July and once for criminal possession of a weapon in November.

The second man remains on the loose.

The victim is expected to make a full recovery.

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