Four People Are Random Victims of Man Swinging Wooden Plank, Cops Say

A homeless man wielding a wooden plank in Lower Manhattan randomly struck four victims in the head Wednesday morning, police said.

None of the victims sustained serious injuries, according to police. 

Police preliminarily identified the suspect as Makaveli Kapone, 23, noting that the name may be an alias. 

The first victim, a 36-year-old woman, was at the intersection of Gold and Beekman streets around 8:20 a.m. when Kapone allegedly hit her in the head with the plank, then fled. The woman sustained what police described as a minor injury and walked into nearby New York-Presbyterian Lower Manhattan Hospital on her own.

Two blocks away, at Nassau and Beekman, the suspect allegedly swung the plank at the head of a 26-year-old man, causing a minor injury, police said. The victim also managed to walk to the hospital for treatment.

Kapone then allegedly fled to Church and Warren, where police said he attacked a 64-year-old woman and 70-year-old man, hitting both in the heads with the plank. They sustained minor injuries, police said, and were treated at the scene by EMS.

1st Precinct officers were interviewing the two victims and canvassing the area when witnesses who saw the fleeing suspect flagged down two Transit District 2 officers. The cops radioed for assistance and together with 1st Precinct patrol officers caught the suspect “before any other individuals were assaulted,” and also recovered the plank, police said. 

Kapone is charged with four counts of felony assault. Police did not provide information on previous arrests, if any.