Local firefighters subdue Ming Guang Huang, the man who tried to kill his wife by hacking at her with a meat cleaver.
A group of firefighters intervened in a meat cleaver attack on a woman in Chinatown and proceeded to apprehend the attacker and prevent the woman from further injury.
On Sunday morning, a man by the name of Ming Guang Huang was spotted arguing with his wife on Canal Street in Chinatown. Firefighters from the nearby Engine 9 and Ladder 6 station reportedly made their way across the street to see what the argument stemmed from.
In an instant, Huang, 28, unveiled a meat cleaver.
Huang was seen dragging his wife across the sidewalk while he began furiously hacking away at her. Its been reported that he got in 6 to 8 hacks before he being taken down by firefighters.
FDNY Engine Company 9 Firefighter Jose Ortiz.
The firefighters, who have been nicknamed the “Chinatown Dragon Fighters,” sprang into action and subdued Huang by pushing him to the pavement. A surveillance video from Fong’s Trading store shows the firefighters then pushing him against the wall as his wife fled from the scene. The firefighters flagged down police officers as they held Huang down.
Video footage of the attack and the firefighters’ reaction to it all can be viewed below:
The woman, who is reportedly 24 years old, fainted on East Broadway after running away from her attacker. CBS News stated that she was taken to Bellevue Hospital. She had lacerations to her face, back and hip.
She was reportedly in critical but stable condition. But now, she has been listed under serous condition.
Joanne Chong, a worker for Fong’s Trading, spoke to the New York Times about what she witnessed:
It was very scary. I’m glad the firefighters were there.
Firefighter Jose Ortiz gave his account of the attack to CBS News:
He pulls a cleaver out of his waistband and starts hacking at this woman. I rush him, I try to grab the cleaver, but he’s swinging six, eight, maybe ten times. We finally get him down on the ground. The lady that was hurt, she bolts. (Fellow firefighter) Shane (Clark) follows her, because I told him, ‘You’ve got to follow the lady, because she’s hurt.
Fellow firefighter Shane Clark spoke about what he witnessed during the attack:
I ran up to the commotion, and I could see that she was bleeding heavily all over her body, and so I ran back, I grabbed a trauma bag, and at that point, she was sprinting down the block. I think she was panicked, more than anything else.
Ming Guang Huang was arrested on criminal charges, including attempted murder. He has been put under a psychiatric evaluation today.