“You took an angel,” Yasira Suarez said of the man accused of killing her daughter. Sayed Mohassib, a 27-year-old New York City Department of Education employee, was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree murder in the stabbing death of Katie Suarez, the 28-year-old Brooklyn jogger, CBS News reported.
Suarez was stabbed in the neck at least twice on the evening of Oct. 30 while jogging along the Shore Parkway Greenway waterfront in Brooklyn, according to police. She had left her job at TD Bank at Caesar’s Bay Shopping Center around 6:30 p.m. and called her father around 8 p.m. to say she was about a half mile from home, ABC7 New York and ABC News reported. When she failed to arrive, her father found her injured along the path, CBS News reported. She was rushed to the hospital but died from her injuries days later.
The NYPD arrested Mohassib at his Brooklyn home Saturday after detectives developed evidence placing him at the scene, ABC7 New York reported. He was charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon, CBS News reported. Wearing a red jacket and flip flops, Mohassib did not answer questions as police walked him out of the 62nd Precinct, CBS News reported.
Mohassib Worked as Teacher’s Aide at P.S. 200 After NYPD and Marine Service
Mohassib was employed as a teacher’s aide at Public School 200 in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, CBS News reported. He had previously served with the NYPD in field training in the Bronx from October to November 2022 before resigning to join the Marines, ABC7 New York reported. He was later discharged from the military on psychiatric grounds and attempted to return to the NYPD, but was referred to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation and did not rejoin the department, ABC7 New York reported.
According to ABC News, a source with knowledge of the investigation said Mohassib was briefly removed from the NYPD for psychological reasons and was later discharged from the Marines for mental health issues. NBC New York reported that in September 2024, police picked him up and took him to Coney Island Hospital for mental health concerns after his mother and sister told police he had threatened to chop them into pieces.
The Department of Education said it suspended Mohassib and would move to terminate his employment pending the outcome of the conviction, CBS News reported. “The safety of our students is our very top priority,” the department said in a statement.
🔴 NYPD arrests DOE employee in stabbing death of Brooklyn jogger Sayed Mohassib, 27, of Brooklyn, was arrested Saturday and charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and criminal possession of a weapon in the Oct. 30 stabbing death of Katie Suarez,… pic.twitter.com/ySUfXvxcBd
City Councilmember Kayla Santosuosso, State Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assemblymember-elect Chris McCreight said in a joint statement that Mohassib “was evidently a mentally disturbed man with no criminal record” who had been “an ex-NYPD officer and ex-Marine who was discharged from the military on psychiatric grounds,” CBS News reported.
Police Say Attack Appears Random; Only Known Link Is Brooklyn College
Police believe the Oct. 30 stabbing was a random attack, NBC New York reported. The only known connection between Mohassib and Suarez is that both attended Brooklyn College, ABC7 New York reported. Surveillance video from Caesar’s Bay Shopping Center helped identify the suspect, and a knife was recovered from a landfill on Staten Island, ABC7 New York reported.
Mohassib allegedly told detectives he did not remember the murder but recalled waking up covered in blood and throwing the knife in the garbage, Fox News and NBC New York reported. Police have not released a motive or said whether Mohassib had any relationship to Suarez, Fox News reported.
Greenway Users Call for More Lights, Cameras and Patrols After Attack
Pedestrians on the greenway expressed relief at the arrest. “I think it’s a little bit of relief. I guess relief and hopefully, potentially, some closure for her family,” one person told CBS News. Residents want new lights in the park, security cameras and more officers on patrol, NBC New York reported.
The attack drew comparisons to the 2016 killing of Karina Vetrano, who was found dead in Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach hours after going for a run, NBC New York reported.
Stabbing Details and Charges Revealed
When was Katie Suarez attacked? She was stabbed on the evening of Oct. 30, while jogging along the Shore Parkway Greenway in Brooklyn, according to ABC7 New York and ABC News.
What is Sayed Mohassib charged with? He faces second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon, CBS News reported.
Where was the murder weapon found? A knife was recovered from a landfill on Staten Island, ABC7 New York reported.
The NYPD said it arrested a New York City teacher's aide Saturday in connection with the killing of Katie Suarez, who was stabbed while jogging in Brooklyn last week. https://t.co/zFrg0J5B7C pic.twitter.com/vYfKgqPu1e
Mohassib remains in custody as the Department of Education moves to terminate his employment pending the outcome of the conviction.