Man attacks a group of people, including children, with a meat cleaver on NYC street

A man has attacked four young girls aged 8-16 with a meat cleaver in a horrific stabbing frenzy on a NYC street.

Four young girls were slashed with a meat cleaver in New York City on Sunday morning when a relative went on a deranged and bloody rampage — before he was shot by cops, officials said.

Police rushed to a home on 84th Street around 10:15am after one of the victims — a wounded 11-year-old girl — locked herself in a room and called 911, telling the dispatcher that her uncle had stabbed her and her siblings, The NY Post reports.

“At that point [the cops] heard screams coming from behind the door to their left and immediately began forcing their way into the apartment, kicking down the door,” NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters at a briefing at the scene.

An unidentified slashing victim is aided by first responders Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Brooklyn. Lun Chang Chen reportedly slashed several family members with a butcher knife before he was shot by responding NYPD officers in a home on 84th St. Picture: Courtesy New York Post.

“Once they entered, they encountered a man standing near the entrance holding a large meat cleaver covered with blood, and they could see blood on the floor of the home,” Tisch said. “The officers ordered the man to drop the weapon several times. He refused and advanced towards them. “Two officers discharged their firearms, firing seven total rounds between them, striking the subject, ending the threat,” she said.

Ms Tisch said the four girls, ages 16, 13, 11, and 8, all suffered “serious slash and stab wounds” and were rushed to Maimonides Medical Center. They are all expected to survive. “This could have ended very differently,” Tisch added.

The suspect, identified as Lun Chang Chen, 49, was also rushed to the hospital and is in critical condition, police said. He is believed to have lived in the home where the horror unfolded. The motive for the brutal assault is under investigation.

“I was watching through the window and the girl covered in blood came out,” said a neighbour who asked to be identified only as Maria. “And then there was another girl. The two girls were just covered in blood. “I was shaking. I’m still shaking now,” she said. “I don’t usually see them. They just moved here. I lived here seven years and there are a lot of new people moving here.”

Disturbing images from the scene obtained by The Post show at least one of the girls outside the building covered in blood from head to toe — while the suspect is seen being wheeled out on a stretcher.

“I was watching through the window and the girl covered in blood came out,” said a neighbour who asked to be identified only as Maria. “And then there was another girl. The two girls were just covered in blood.

“I was shaking. I’m still shaking now,” she said. “I don’t usually see them. They just moved here. I lived here seven years and there are a lot of new people moving here.”

Disturbing images from the scene obtained by The Post show at least one of the girls outside the building covered in blood from head to toe — while the suspect is seen being wheeled out on a stretcher.

“They brought out a guy on a stretcher, all bloody without a shirt,” neighbour Humbert Huerta said. “I don’t know who it was, but they shot him twice. They took him out and put him in the ambulance. Probably 40 years old.”

Tisch told reporters that a fifth child, a boy, was in the apartment earlier and ran for help when the suspect launched his attack.

“Right now we know there were five children, four hurt,” she said. “This might be the father of some of them or the uncle. And, again, we’re going to work through that. And we believe the mother was out of the house.”

State Assemblyman Lester Chang, who represents the Brooklyn neighbourhood, said one of the victims may be a babysitter.

This article originally appeared in The NY Post and was reproduced with permission