Who is Mike Kushnir? NYC man, 24, who stabbed Gerardo Rivas, 17, to death defaced civil war monuments in 2014
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK CITY: A suspect has been arrested in the gruesome stabbing of 17-year-old Gerardo Rivas, which occurred in front of his family's Washington Heights apartment building on March 27. Mike Kushnir, the 24-year-old suspect, was nabbed by police and indicted on murder charge on April 9, 2021. He is currently being held without bail as ordered by Manhattan Criminal Court, according to reports.
The investigators are still unclear about the motive behind the brutal stabbing of the teenager. According to his mother Mirna Rivas, Gerardo was unlikely to have any problems with anyone. "I never saw him have problems with anyone ever. Not even an argument, nothing. I don’t understand what could have happened," she reportedly said.
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Who is Mike Kushnir?
Mike Kushnir is a former resident of a luxury home in Hell's Kitchen, New York, where his mother kicked him out following a domestic incident. The 24-year-old's name features on the no-entry list for the building and every doorman is specially trained to stop him from entering.
Kushnir was with three other friends around 2:15 pm on March 27, 2021, when he fatally attacked Gerardo Rivas by making a thrusting motion towards him. Gerardo was reportedly standing at the corner of West 181st Street and Saint Nicholas Avenue when Kushnir stabbed him under the arm, reported CBS New York.
There might have been an argument between the two that led to the stabbing, as hinted by NY Daily News.
Gerardo yelled, "He stabbed me," before reportedly leaving the location on a bike. He soon flagged down a passing ambulance when paramedics rushed him to the New York-Presbyterian Columbia Hospital. Thirty minutes later, he was pronounced dead. Though he could not identify his attacker, he told the police that he was standing on the street corner at the time of the stabbing.
Meanwhile, Kushnir attorney Boris Nektalov told New York Post, “Mr Kushnir is presumed innocent and we look forward to vigorously defend him in court."
This, however, is not the first criminal offense Kushnir had been named in. In 2017, he pleaded guilty to the possession of a controlled substance. Prior to that, in 2014, he was caught red-handed for defacing two civil war monuments in Upper West Side, New York. He was 17-year-old at the time and was charged with felony criminal mischief, according to New York Post.
Mike Kushnir is due to be back in court on Wednesday, April 14, 2021.