A former New York police officer accused of stabbing a jogger to death, they had attended the same college

Her father was waiting for her, she never arrived. A 28-year-old American jogger, Katie Suarez, went jogging in Brooklyn on Friday, October 30. Her run stopped along the Shore Parkway Greenway, a pedestrian thoroughfare used by athletes, where she received two fatal stab wounds to the neck. The assailant was found after a police investigation lasting several days and a call for witnesses: he was Sayed Mohassib, an agent employed in the Education Department of the City of New York, previously a police officer.

The New York police indicated this Saturday that this 27-year-old man, originally from Bath Beach in Brooklyn, was accused of murder, tampering with evidence and illegal carrying of a weapon. Authorities said they found a knife in a dump not far from the crime scene. CCTV cameras filmed him throwing bin bags near his home on the night of the attack. According to New York police sources, relayed by the American press, Sayed Mohassib said that he did not remember anything, that he lost consciousness, before waking up covered in blood.

He had threatened his mother and sister to “cut them into pieces”

According to police sources, he worked at a public school in Brooklyn, where he returned to his position the days following the attack. Previously, in 2022, he joined the New York Police Department for training in the Bronx for a few months. He then joined the Marine Corps, before seeking to rejoin the police force. He was rejected and sent for a psychological evaluation. In 2024, Mohassib's mother and sister reportedly contacted an emergency number because he threatened to "cut them into pieces."

The October 30 victim, Katie Suarez, left the bank where she worked in the Caesar's Bay shopping center around 6:30 p.m. on Friday, wearing running gear. She then called her father around 8 p.m. according to ABC to tell him that she was less than a kilometer from her point of arrival, where a family dinner was to be held. Not seeing her return or answering his calls, her father went looking for her and quickly found her on the Shore Parkway Greenway. Taken to hospital, she struggled for several days before succumbing to her injuries, her mother announced.

The assailant and his victim had attended the same Brooklyn college at the same time, authorities said. However, at this stage, there is nothing to prove that they knew each other and that Sayed Mohassib had knowingly chosen his target. In New York, the case has caused consternation and several voices are offended by the continued employment of the accused in a public school, given his mental disorders, which have been noted many times. The New York Department of Education said in a statement that Mohassib had been “suspended” from his duties and clarified: “The safety of our students is our top priority.”