Posted on March 12, 2019 at 8:46 am by West Sider

By Joy Bergmann

A shouting match escalated into the stabbing of two men by a third man around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning at Dive 75, a bar located at 101 W. 75th Street at Columbus, police said.

NYPD officers arrested a 41-year-old man at the scene and confiscated a knife believed to have been used in the incident. The suspect is awaiting charges, police officials said.

The two victims were transported to Cornell Medical Center and are reportedly in stable condition. The first, a 61-year-old man, suffered stab wounds to the hand and leg. The second, a 35-year-old man, endured stab wounds to his stomach, hand and buttocks, police said.

Deputy Inspector Timothy Malin of the 20th Precinct told WSR that the altercation began when the suspect could not be dissuaded from aggressively hitting on a woman at the bar and the two victims intervened on her behalf. That verbal disagreement led to a fight outside during which the stabbings occurred. Two Good Samaritans restrained the suspect against a vehicle until NYPD arrived, Malin said.

As of 7:00 a.m. Tuesday, the stairs and sidewalk outside of Dive 75 remained mottled with bloodstains.