Bronx man stabbed to death during fight over parking space is New York City's first homicide of 2023

Another woman stabbed during the altercation was described as having a stable condition. No one was arrested

UPDATED JAN 2, 2023

(Representational photo, Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images)

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: New York City's first homicide of 2023 occurred on Sunday, January 1, when a man was fatally stabbed during a fight over a parking space in the Bronx, according to authorities. The sources identified the victim as Sergio Garcia, 63. Just before 4 am, officers said he and a 38-year-old woman were stabbed in front of a structure on College Avenue near East 170th Street in Claremont Village.

Garcia was declared dead upon arrival at Bronx Lebanon Hospital, while the woman was described as having a stable condition, according to the police. No one was arrested. “They were involved in an altercation with an unknown group over parking,” a law enforcement source told The New York Post. “This guy got killed over a parking spot.”

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According to police, there was further bloodshed early in the year besides the deadly stabbing. Around 2.30 am, a man was stabbed in the stomach in Manhattan's Flatiron District at East 21st Street and Fifth Avenue, according to police. He was brought to Bellevue Hospital where his condition was stable. Police reported that the suspect, dressed in a yellow jacket and gray trousers, ran off on foot down 21st Street. There was no established reason.

According to police statistics, there had been 418 murders in the five boroughs as of Christmas Day in 2022, down from 481 over the same period in the previous year. As reported by the NYPD, New York City's overall index crime declined by 1.2% in November 2022 (10,196 v. 10,323), compared to November 2021. With a 14.1% drop in rape (110 v. 128), a 6% drop in burglary (1,231 v. 1,310), and a 5.5% drop in grand larceny, three of the seven major index-crime categories witnessed decreases (4,187 v. 4,430).

As a result of the NYPD's sustained emphasis on reducing gun violence, there were fewer shooting events overall in New York City in November 2022 compared to November 2021. Shootings in the city as a whole dropped by 32.8% (80 v. 119) during the month, adding to the 16.2% (1209 v. 1442) drop recorded for the whole year, with notable drops in northern Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx. Additionally, as of the end of November, the number of murders in the entire city had reduced by 11.1% (393 v. 442) when compared to 2021.

Additionally, 4,013 major felony arrests were made by NYPD police in November 2022, up 19.0% from the 3,371 significant felony arrests made in the same month the previous year. When compared to the first 11 months of 2021, serious felony arrests are up more than 25% (43,764 v. 34,953) in 2022.