NYPD releases surveillance footage of suspects in teen stabbing in Financial District

Police on Tuesday continued to investigate the fatal stabbing of a 17-year-old in Lower Manhattan’s Financial District, releasing surveillance footage and images of three men they identified as suspects in the killing.

The incident happened last Thursday around 7:40 p.m. at John and Nassau streets, according to the NYPD. Officials identified the victim as Yeremi Colino and said an 18-year-old he was with was stabbed and injured.

Police on Tuesday said the suspects had a verbal dispute with the two teenagers before the stabbings, adding that they do not currently believe the groups knew each other. The suspects punched and kicked Colino before one of them stabbed him in the chest with a knife, officials said. Colino was taken to Bellevue Hospital and pronounced dead.

Police had initially said the three men, who were all in their 20s, asked the teens if they spoke English before stabbing them. But on Monday, Mayor Eric Adams cast doubt on that at a press conference, saying it “wasn’t in any documentation or any of the interviews” around the incident.

The NYPD is not yet investigating the incident as a hate crime, officials said. They said Colino lived at the Roosevelt Hotel migrant shelter in Midtown, but they did not confirm his immigration status.

According to police, the suspects fled west on Broadway into the Fulton Street subway station after the incident. NYPD data shows homicides are statistically rare in its 1st Precinct, where the stabbings happened. So far this year, there were three murders in the precinct through Dec. 1, compared to zero in the same period last year.

This is a developing story based on preliminary police information and may be updated.