Man arrested in East Village face slashing, already charged in another attack

EAST VILLAGE, Manhattan (WABC) -- A suspect has been charged in the face slashing of another man in the East Village last weekend, and police say he's connected with at least one other slashing incident in the city.

Francis Salud, 28, man was taken into custody at his apartment at East 4th and Second Avenue Thursday morning. The NYPD said the suspect is originally from Queens but is now living in Lower Manhattan.

Police said 30-year-old Anthony Christopher-Smith was walking down East 6th Street near Cooper Square with headphones at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday when he was knocked to the ground.

When he got up, he touched his face, and realized that he had been slashed. He had to undergo 8 hours of surgery and received 150 stitches.

Police released surveillance photos and video showing the suspect in the case, and said it led them to Salud.

Salud has not yet been charged in Saturday's incident, but police said he's their suspect in the case. Detectives are getting a search warrant to search his apartment.

Salud was previously arrested and charged for a slashing that happened October 18 on First Avenue. Police say it involved a dispute in a backyard garden with another man over a cigarette. The victim in that case is 30 years old and needed 73 stitches on the left side of his body.

Detectives around the city are being notified of these cases in case they match any other unsolved slashings across the city.