A New Jersey woman was arrested Sunday for allegedly slashing a bystander in the face with a kitchen knife in a seemingly random attack outside of a Manhattan pizza shop, police said.
Ola Albanni, 52, of Hoboken, NJ, was charged with the harrowing Friday evening attack in Midtown that left a 65-year-woman hospitalized with a gash under her eye, according to the NYPD.
Albanni allegedly approached the victim on the sidewalk outside 2 Bros Pizza on Eight Avenue and West 38th Street just after 6pm and slashed her across the face with “a large kitchen knife,” cops said.
The victim was treated at Mount Sinai Hospital and released.
Police released security footage showing the suspect – -who ran off after the slashing — walking on a busy street bedecked in a furry black coat, a matching bucket hat, pink shorts and buckled shoes, while reaching a hand into a pair of shopping bags.
Albanni was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
The motive in the attack remained unclear.
It was the latest in a startling surge of stabbings and slashings across NYC’s sidewalks and subways in 2023.
Knife attacks in the city have spiked 26% since 2019, according to NYPD data obtained by The Post.
As of Aug. 13, there had been 3,365 non-fatal knife attacks since January 1, and a shocking 53 fatal attacks.
Additional reporting by Amanda Woods
