Three men were indicted in the stabbing death a 24-year-old man at one of New York City's migrant shelters, according to the Manhattan district attorney.
The trio — 27-year-old Moises Coronado, 33-year-old Ferneys Horta, and 27-year-old Anthony Navas — were each charged in the indictment with first-degree manslaughter and gang assault for the deadly incident on Jan. 6 on Randall's Island, Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg announced Tuesday.
One of the men, Coronado, also faces a count of second-degree murder for the death of Dafren Canizalez.
"As alleged, Dafren Canizalez was brutally killed in an attack by a group, who trapped and chased him until he collapsed," said Bragg. "Everyone who comes into our city deserves to be safe, and we will continue to hold those who commit serious acts of violence accountable.”"
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The three men and Canizalez were staying at the shelter on Randall's Island when the violence broke out around 7:30 p.m., according to court documents. Coronado and Canizalez got into an argument in the cafeteria of the facility, documents stated, and Coronado left to get a knife.
"Everyone in the lunchroom was crowded together, standing on tables watching. I seen security trying to cool down this one guest, but the guest he just wasn't having it," an employee of the shelter told NBC New York. "He ran to get something, came back and lunged at the guy. Everything happened so quickly."
He came back with his friends Horta and Navas, each of whom was armed with a knife in their pocket, documents said. When they found Canizalez, they surrounded him, and Coronado punched him in the face. The trio chased him out of the cafeteria and caught up to him when he was blocked in by a locked door.
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Coronado allegedly stabbed him multiple times, including in the hand and the deadly wound to his chest. The suspects continued to chase Canizalez around until he collapsed, according to court documents.
Medics took the man to a local hospital where he was ultimately pronounced dead, police said. A knife was also recovered from the scene.
Coronado reportedly tried to run off after the attack but was stopped by security, and was later arrested at the scene. Horta and Navas were arrested two days later, Bragg said.
