Former NYPD Officer Accused in Brooklyn Jogger’s Stabbing

A former NYPD officer, Sayed Mohassib, is accused of fatally stabbing a jogger in Brooklyn. According to a criminal complaint, he told police he was armed with a knife on a bike path because he believed people intended to harm his family. Mohassib, aged 27, is also a teacher’s aide in a city public school.

Katie Suarez, 28, was jogging along the Belt Parkway when she was stabbed twice in the neck on October 30. Surveillance video played a crucial role in his arrest; it showed Mohassib approaching and then fleeing the crime scene during the time of the attack.

Facial-recognition technology and government records, including fingerprints and photos from his short stint with the NYPD and work with the city’s Department of Education, helped identify him, according to law enforcement sources.

After being apprehended, Mohassib reportedly told detectives he visited the park to prevent harm to his family. He claimed he left for the nearby Verrazzano Bridge, returned, and sat on a bench, becoming covered in blood. However, he denied stabbing anyone. After the incident, he returned to his home in Bensonhurst, changed clothes, and discarded evidence in a garbage chute. Investigators are now searching a sanitation barge for the murder weapon.

Court documents reveal that Mohassib confessed to having blood on his hands and attempted to clean it from his apartment. He also identified himself on surveillance footage. Inside his room, the walls were stained with blood, which he tried to clean without success.

Mohassib’s previous tenure as an NYPD officer lasted only six weeks. He then attempted to join the US Marines Corps but was rejected due to concerns about his mental health. When he sought to return to the NYPD, he was refused entry due to unsettling behavior.

At the time of the alleged murder, he was employed as a paraprofessional in the city school system. The Board of Education did not comment on his status. Mohassib was arraigned without bail and remains in custody.

A woman at Mohassib’s home declined to comment, citing emotional pain, when approached by reporters.