TIMES SQUARE, Manhattan (PIX11) -- Police continue to look for suspects involved in two attacks on people that happened in Times Square on Thursday, within hours of each other. The frequency and intensity of those attacks, along with at least two other high-profile crimes in the area, have some people who live and work nearby talking about security in the area.
Many of the people who spoke with PIX11 News said that they were less concerned about the crime situation overall and more concerned about the status of migrants in the area, who may be connected to the crimes.
Thursday evening was a busy one for law enforcement in the Times Square area. Police recovered a knife and part of a broom handle that they said were involved in an attack on a 17-year-old in the Times Square area. The teen was stabbed in the back while fleeing a crowd of up to 23 people, police said. At least seven are in custody, according to investigators looking into the 5:30 p.m. attack on Thursday.
Less than three hours later, around the corner, in front of the Hard Rock Cafe, a man was apparently beaten by a group of five men, according to police, who arrested three. Witnesses said that the alleged victim started the confrontation.
It all happened near where a 15-year-old allegedly shot a tourist two weeks ago, and near where two NYPD cops were attacked by a group of men last month.
The victims in all of the cases are expected to be OK, but the frequency and boldness of the attacks are generating conversation about them. Most of those comments, though, center around the fact that crime can happen in this part of the city.
Derrick Nelson, who said he comes to the area regularly from Orange County to visit his parents in the city, said he grew up in the city, and "that it's better than it used to be."
Vicky Perez, who works in the neighborhood, had a similar observation.
"I've lived here all my life, and some violence just happens," she said.
She added, though, something that a variety of people did who spoke with PIX11 News: most of the recent high-profile crimes in the Times Square area involved migrants to the city, according to police reports.
Perez was by no means the only person to say so.
One man, who gave only his last name, Smith, said that more needs to be done to ensure that migrants in the Times Square area who are under-occupied due to a lack of work permits stay safe.
"There's no infrastructure for police to keep the situation under control," he said.
Perez agreed. She and others mentioned one place specifically, repeatedly.
"I do feel a little bit more [intimidated] walking around the corner, the old Milford Plaza, is an immigrant hotel," she said, referring to the migrant shelter on Eighth Avenue, between 44th and 45th Streets, which is the former Milford Plaza Hotel. "Walking by there every day is horrible."
Perez is herself the daughter of immigrants, and said that she supports immigration. Still, she added, she regularly sees catcalling and other unwelcome behavior outside of the shelter, where many people who aren't allowed to legally have jobs loiter all day.
NYPD crime statistics show that overall violent crime in the Times Square area is down year-to-date by nearly 6%.
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