A man was robbed and stabbed in New York City by a trio claiming to be from the gang MS-13.

The 45-year-old was walking in the Queens neighborhood of Jackson Heights on Saturday night when he was approached from behind.

The trip shouted 'MS-13', robbed him, and fled - leaving the man with a one-inch deep gash.

MS-13 is thought to be behind a recent string of murders in Long Island, pushing into the public eye the decades of evil perpetuated by the group.

On the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 90th Street (pictured) in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, a 45-year-old man was robbed of $600 and stabbed in the back by a trio of men who shouted 'MS-13' - the name of a notorious El Salvadorian criminal enterprise

The group was started nearly 20 years ago in Los Angeles after millions of immigrants from El Salvador came to the US after a violent civil war left more than 100,000 dead (Pictured here, four unidentified members of MS-13 show their tattoos at the National Penitentiary in Tamara, Honduras)

The man was walking in Jackson Heights, Queens, on Saturday night when the trio approached him from behind.

They shouted ‘MS-13’ during the attack and stole about $600 in cash from the victim’s pockets, according to police.

It's not immediately clear if the men were actually members of the notorious gang or were just pretending to be.

The victim was treated for a one-inch deep stab wound at Elmhurst Hospital, police said.

He was intoxicated at the time of the incident, which was around 7pm, and his name has not yet been released.

An NYPD spokeswoman told Daily Mail Online that no arrests have been made but that an investigation is ongoing.

The El Salvadorian criminal enterprise MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, is believed to have a presence in 46 states, according to an independent study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania.

MS-13 is the first and only criminal organization in the US to be named as 'transnational' by the FBI and operates on the motto of 'Kill, Rape, Control', former Massachusetts US Attorney Carmen Ortiz said.

The group was started nearly 20 years ago in Los Angeles after millions of immigrants from El Salvador came to the US after a violent civil war left more than 100,000 dead.

Miguel Alvarez-Flores (right) smiles and waves at news cameras in a Houston court on Wednesday, as the gang leader known as 'Diabolico' and his partner, 18-year-old Diego Hernandez-Rivera (left), faced charges of aggravated kidnapping and murder

Nisa Mickens, 15 (left), and Kayla Cuevas, 16 (right), from Long Island, New York, were ambushed by a carload of other teens on September 13 and killed. Thirteen members of the MS-13 gang were arrested on March 2 in connection with the slayings

The gang has since spread all over the country, and are known widely as the best killers - due to their exceedingly brutal weapon of choice: a machete.

Thirteen alleged members, 10 of whom are illegal immigrants, were arrested in connection to seven slayings in Long Island over the last year.

Cops believe MS-13 is behind the brutal beating and slaying of four young men in Recreation Village Town Park in Central Islip, Long Island, last month.

Ten illegal immigrant members of the notorious gang - including one who was previously deported - were indicted in March in the wave of violence that ended in the deaths of two teenage girls - Nisa Mickens, 15, and Kayla Cuevas, 16 - in Brentwood in September.