EVERYONE, I'M TANYA RIVERO AND I'M JOE TORRES. IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. ANOTHER TOURIST MINDING HIS BUSINESS SLASHED IN AN UNPROVOKED ATTACK. THIS TIME IT

HAPPENED IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN THIS MORNING. THE 42-YEAR-OLD MAN WAS VISITING FROM ITALY AND WAS SIMPLY WALKING ON MADISON AVENUE WHEN A WOMAN SWUNG A

KNIFE AT HIM AND CUT HIS RIGHT HAND. THIS ASSAULT IS VAGUELY SIMILAR TO ANOTHER INCIDENT, A DANISH TOURIST WAS SLASHED IN THE FACE ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE WEDNESDAY MORNING. EYEWITNESS

NEWS REPORTER ANTHONY CALO SPOKE TO THE VICTIM FROM TODAY'S ATTACK ON MANHATTAN'S SWANKY MADISON AVENUE, A PERFECT PLACE TO CAPTURE THE BUZZ OF A SATURDAY NIGHT IN THE CITY. THE

LAST PLACE YOU WOULD EXPECT TO HEAR OF A RANDOM SLASHING. YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT. YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR THAT. THAT'S THE HAND OF AN ITALIAN TOURIST ALL BANDAGED UP AFTER HE

SHIELDED HIMSELF FROM THIS WOMAN WHO POLICE SAY SWUNG A KNIFE AT HIM OUT OF NOWHERE. 'I JUST PASSED NEXT TO HER AND JUST. JUST SHE JUST TURNED AROUND QUICKLY AND STABBED ME.' PAOLO RECH SPOKE WITH

EYEWITNESS NEWS ON THE PHONE HOURS AFTER THE UNPROVOKED ATTACK ON MADISON AVENUE. RECH WAS OUT SIGHTSEEING LATE SATURDAY MORNING WHEN HE WALKED BY THE WOMAN WHO HE SAYS WAS

BLANKLY STARING AT A WI-FI KIOSK AS IF IN A TRANCE BEFORE LUNGING AT HIM WITH A KNIFE. I WAS SHOCKED, SO I JUST LOOKED AT HER AND. AND THEN I SAW THAT SHE WAS

LOOKING BACK AT THE SIGN, COMPLETELY LOST IN HER MIND, AND I SAID, OKAY, LET'S JUST WALK AWAY. THAT TOURIST SLASHED HERE ON MADISON AVENUE IS IN TOWN FROM ITALY. HE'S A COMPUTER

SCIENCE PROFESSOR WHO'S PREPARING TO SPEAK AT NYU THIS WEEK. HE IS NOT THE FIRST TOURIST TO BE RANDOMLY SLASHED IN MANHATTAN. IN JUST THE PAST FEW DAYS, 25 YEAR OLD JOSHUA

ZINBERG WAS CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AND ASSAULT AFTER ALLEGEDLY SLASHING A TOURIST FROM DENMARK ON THE UPPER WEST SIDE WEDNESDAY. NO CITY WANTS TO BE KNOWN AS THE

CITY OF STABBINGS, SO HOPEFULLY, HOPEFULLY IT WILL END. NEW YORKERS KNOW SUCH A TREND CANNOT CONTINUE AT THE PEAK OF HOLIDAY TOURISM IN THE BIG APPLE. MORE

PEOPLE TO COME OUT DINING. AND THEN THIS HAS HAPPENED. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, THIS KIND OF IMPACTS THE ECONOMY TOO, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO GO OUT. BUT STILL, A CITY THIS TOURIST WILL

VISIT, EVEN IF HIS LAST TRIP ENDED WITH A TETANUS SHOT AFTER BEING SLASHED IN THE HAND. HAS THIS CHANGED YOUR PERCEPTION OF NEW YORK CITY? NO. I LOVE NEW YORK CITY. I MEAN, TH

Italian tourist stabbed while walking in Manhattan

Eyewitness News ABC7NY

Unprovoked Attacks on Tourists in Manhattan

Another tourist was slashed in an unprovoked attack in Midtown Manhattan.

A 42-year-old Italian tourist was walking on Madison Avenue when a woman slashed his hand with a knife.

This incident is similar to another attack on a Danish tourist on the Upper West Side.

The attack occurred on Madison Avenue, an unexpected location for such violence.

The victim, Paolo Rech, described the attack and the assailant's behavior.

The victim is a computer science professor visiting from Italy to speak at NYU.

Another tourist from Denmark was slashed a few days earlier, and the assailant was charged with attempted murder and assault.

Concerns are raised about New York City's image and the impact on tourism.

The attacks are seen as potentially harmful to the city's economy.

Despite the attack, the Italian tourist still loves New York City and his perception hasn't changed.

Italian tourist stabbed while walking in Manhattan

Scripts