Three men were hospitalized in stable condition after an early-morning dispute over food escalated near Delancey Street and Bowery.
NEW YORK — Police were searching Wednesday for a man accused of stabbing three people during a dispute over food on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, leaving all three victims hospitalized but in stable condition.
The violence unfolded about 1:15 a.m. near Delancey Street and Bowery, according to police. Investigators said the suspect approached a 26-year-old Queens man and began arguing with him over food before stabbing him in the stomach. The suspect remained at large Wednesday, and police said no weapon had been recovered.
A witness told ABC7 New York that the dispute began inside a grocery store, where the man who later became the suspect had asked for food or money. Authorities had not publicly identified the store or released additional details about what happened between that request and the stabbing.
Two other men who were with the 26-year-old tried to intervene as the confrontation escalated, according to the report. Police said a 21-year-old man was stabbed in the left shoulder and a 19-year-old man was stabbed in the left arm. The two younger men were described as friends of the first victim and were visiting from California.
Emergency crews took all three men to Bellevue Hospital. Police said each was in stable condition. Their names were not released, and authorities had not disclosed whether any of them required surgery or remained hospitalized later Wednesday.
Investigators described the person they were seeking as a man with dreadlocks who was dressed in black and wearing a top hat. Police said he fled west on Delancey Street after the attack. Authorities had not released his name or announced that they had identified him.
CBS New York also reported Wednesday that police were searching for a person of interest after three men were stabbed in the Bowery early in the morning. No arrest had been announced by the time of the latest available reports.
The intersection is within the Lower East Side area served by the NYPD’s 7th Precinct. Police had not announced a motive beyond the reported dispute over food, and investigators had not said whether the suspect knew any of the three injured men before the confrontation.
The investigation remained active Wednesday. Police had made no arrests and had not recovered the weapon used in the attack, according to the latest available information.
Author note: Last updated September 30, 2026.