NYPD: 1 arrested in Orchard Beach stabbing near playground
Melvin Ramos, 39, was arrested and charged with second-degree assault.
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What started as an argument escalated into a violent stabbing at Orchard Beach on Sunday night, according to officials.
Sources with the FDNY tell News 12 that paramedics found the victim lying on the boardwalk with an arterial wound to his arm.
They say if EMS crews hadn’t been nearby and able to apply a tourniquet right away, the man might not have survived.
Blood trails were seen Monday along the Orchard Beach promenade, just feet from a playground.
“It scares you to death,” said parkgoer Alnisa Biewington. “You don’t know when it’s going to be you next time.”
Longtime beachgoers JR and Sonia Garcia said they’ve been coming to Orchard Beach since they were children—and that this is not the beach they remember.
“It’s a shame that people ain’t safe,” said JR Garcia. “This is our neighborhood beach. It should be safe for everybody.”
“My dad’s been bringing me here since I was a kid and it was nothing like this. It was family," said Sonia Garcia.
The NYPD says the incident unfolded around 8 p.m. in Section 7.
Investigators say a 35-year-old man got into an argument with a woman who was at the beach with her boyfriend.
They say the disagreement escalated, and the woman’s boyfriend—identified as 39-year-old Melvin Ramos—allegedly stabbed the man in the arm.
“I’m glad I don’t bring my children here, my grandchildren,” Sonia Garcia said. “What, I have to have a gun? Do I have to have a knife? Do I have to have something with which to protect myself? I mean, to me, having the cane, I’m a target.”
The victim was taken to the hospital and is expected to recover.
Some beachgoers told News 12 they believe the NYPD needs to increase its presence along the boardwalk.
“I don’t even see them on the boardwalk,” Garcia said. “I see them in their cars. What good is that?”
When asked whether the incident made them feel unsafe, the beachgoer added: “Right now, I’m not feeling anything. I’m just saying, well, here it goes—another one. If you start getting scared, you won’t go anywhere, and I don’t think that’s fair.”
Ramos was arrested late Sunday night and is charged with assault in the second degree.
