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Queens Man Arrested After Targeted Stabbing of Court Officers in Manhattan Courthouse

Authorities opened a criminal investigation into the June 16 stabbing of two court officers under growing pressure to address security staffing shortages.

The Criminal Court Building in lower Manhattan.
The Manhattan Criminal Court building at 100 Centre Street in downtown Manhattan.  (Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News)
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Overview

  • Jonathan Wohl, 37, of Queens, attacked two uniformed court officers with a knife in the lobby of the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse at 100 Centre Street around 9:30 a.m. on June 16.
  • Surveillance video shows the assailant slashing one officer’s face and cutting another’s neck before colleagues disarmed and subdued him near the metal detectors.
  • Wohl had 18 prior arrests with three open cases, no scheduled hearing that morning, and a history of harassing court personnel at the same building.
  • Both injured officers were hospitalized in stable condition and are expected to recover from serious wounds to the face and neck.
  • Authorities have opened a criminal investigation into the attacker’s motives as the New York State Supreme Court Officers Association warns that staffing shortages threaten courthouse security.