Brooklyn man charged with murder in fatal stabbing of 61-year-old Bronx resident: NYPD

Police have arrested a suspect in the fatal stabbing of a Bronx man last week, saying the killing may have followed a dispute over a backpack.

Brooklyn resident Gregory Hightower, 31, was charged Wednesday with allegedly murdering 61-year-old Tyrone Padilla in his Fordham Heights apartment building around 1:30 a.m. last Friday.

NYPD Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny told reporters at a press conference Wednesday that Padilla had a “habit of picking things up off the ground” as part of his “autistic tendencies” and often threw away items from in front of his building at 2415 Creston Ave.

Kenny said Padilla may have accidentally picked up Hightower’s backpack there, leading him to chase Padilla into the building and attack him in the lobby.

Padilla was stabbed in the neck and armpit, according to police. He was taken to St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx and pronounced dead.

Hightower allegedly fled the scene by subway at the nearby Fordham Road station, where NYPD officers were able to collect surveillance video of him, Kenny said.

Hightower lives in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, per the NYPD. It’s unclear what he was doing in the Bronx at the time of Padilla’s killing.

Hightower’s court arraignment was pending Thursday and attorney information for him was not immediately available.

This is a developing story and may be updated.