NYC security guard stabbed over mask dispute at Apple Store: authorities

A security guard at an Apple Store in New York City was reportedly stabbed on Friday evening by a male customer over a dispute on the store’s masking policy, police say. 

A 37-year-old security guard was stabbed multiple times around 6:30 p.m. on Friday after a customer was told that masks had to be worn if he wanted to go inside, police said, according to ABC7 New York.

The interaction dissolved into violence after the man refused to wear a mask, and the two exchanged words. After their exchange, the man pulled out a sharp object, and the security guard was stabbed. 

The suspect had already left the scene by the time police arrived at the Manhattan location on West 14th Street, Detective Sophia Mason, a spokesperson for the Office of Deputy Commissioner of Public Information, said in a statement.

The name of the suspect is not known. Police believe he was wearing blue jeans, a black mask and a black shirt, according to preliminary information. 

Mason said that the guard told police that “he was stabbed one time in the left arm and one time in the forehead with a knife.”

The guard, who was stabbed in multiple places on his body, is expected to recover from his injuries after he was taken to Bellevue Hospital, according to ABC7. The guard’s identity was also not made clear. 

“I saw him when they took him out on a stretcher, two paramedics followed by about five or six policemen, but I did see cops running in and running to the back,” a witness told ABC7.

New York City requires that customers follow stores’ guidance if they require people to wear facial coverings inside, regardless of their vaccination status.

Updated 6:31 p.m.