Suspect indicted for murder in unprovoked stabbing spree in Manhattan: Prosecutors

A grand jury returned an indictment charging Ramon Rivera with murder in a deadly stabbing spree across Manhattan last month, prosecutors announced Thursday.

Prosecutors said Rivera, 51, committed "an unprovoked and violent series of stabbings" that killed three people within a span of three hours.

"These fatal stabbings have shaken our city, and those who commit random acts of violence will face accountability," Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.

Rivera allegedly broke into a hardware store on First Avenue the morning of Nov. 18, stealing a backpack, kitchen knives and construction gloves, prosecutors said.

He is accused of using the knives to then stab his victims at random and without provocation, before fleeing the scene, police said.

The first victim, 35-year-old Angel Lata Landi, was stabbed twice in the torso at around 8:20 a.m. by the construction site where he was working on West 19th Street, the NYPD and prosecutors said.

About two hours later, 67-year-old Chang Wang was fatally stabbed multiple times on East 30th Street, where he had been fishing, prosecutors said.

The third victim, 36-year-old Wilna Augustin, was sitting on a park bench shortly before 11 a.m. at East 42nd Street and First Avenue when she was stabbed multiple times as she yelled for help, prosecutors said.

All three victims were transported to local hospitals, where they were pronounced dead, prosecutors said.

After the third stabbing incident, an eyewitness followed the suspect until he was able to point him out to law enforcement, prosecutors said. A police officer and federal agent ran after Rivera, stopping him around East 46th Street and First Avenue, prosecutors said.

Two bloody kitchen knives were recovered, police said.

Rivera has been charged in the indictment with one count of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder and one count of third-degree burglary, the district attorney's office said.

ABC News has reached out to his attorney for comment.

Rivera was initially charged with three counts of first-degree murder following his arrest, police said. He confessed to the killings during questioning, according to police sources.

The suspect, who had been staying at the Bellevue Men's Shelter on East 30th Street, has eight prior arrests in New York City, according to law enforcement. He is believed to have severe mental health challenges, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said.

"There's a real question as to why he was on the street," Adams said following the suspect's arrest.

Rivera's prior arrests mainly involved shoplifting, officials said. None involved a weapon.

He was out without bail pending trial on his most recent arrests.

He had two documented interactions with the city while in mental distress, officials said.