A former New York Police Department officer who later worked for the Department of Education has been arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a Brooklyn woman.
Katie Suarez, 28, was attacked at about 8 p.m. on October 30 near Bay 17th Street and Shore Parkway in Bath Beach. She had been running in the area while preparing to compete in the New York City Marathon, which was only days away.
Police arrested Sayed Mohassib, 27, and charged him with second-degree murder.
Investigators reportedly identified Mohassib after reviewing surveillance footage that allegedly showed him leaving a Brooklyn park around the time of the killing.
According to the NYPost, Mohassib told officers he could not remember the attack. He allegedly said he later woke up covered in blood, with the suspected weapon on him.
Mohassib and Suarez both attended Brooklyn College. Police have not said whether they knew each other or had any previous connection.
Investigators believe Mohassib discarded the weapon in a garbage bin after the stabbing. He had previously served with the Marines after leaving the NYPD.
After departing the Marines, Mohassib reportedly attempted to return to the police department but was rejected. He later took a job with the Department of Education as a teacher’s aide at PS 200 in Bensonhurst, according to sources.
Katie Suarez, 28, was jogging along a popular Brooklyn waterfront promenade when she was stabbed in the neck shortly after 8 p.m. near Bay 17th Street and Shore Parkway in Bath Beach
Suarez’s father went searching for her and found his daughter critically wounded and bleeding in a nearby grassy area.
She was taken to NYU Langone Hospital in critical condition. Doctors later determined that her injuries were so severe that she was declared brain dead.
Suarez worked as a cashier at a local bank branch, where colleagues remembered her as a hardworking and professional employee.
A neighbor described Suarez as “very professional, very kind” and “very soft spoken,” adding that the loss was deeply upsetting.
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The waterfront promenade is a residential part of southern Brooklyn popular with walkers, cyclists and fishermen
Suarez had been preparing for the New York City Marathon when she was killed
Images from the scene showed blood on a railing and red stains across the concrete path in Bath Beach
The neighbor said Suarez’s kindness had made a lasting impression on those who encountered her.
“Nobody is supposed to have their life taken, whether they are good or bad,” he said. “But she was exceptional to me in the way I interacted with her.”
He described Suarez and her partner as thoughtful members of the community who often walked through the neighborhood and treated people respectfully.
“A good teller and a good character, you understand? She looked like a very family-oriented woman,” he said.
Another local resident, Anna Dece, said she was struggling to process the violence, particularly because it had happened so close to home.
“I’m very sad. That’s terrible. I’m sad for everybody,” she said. “But this is close. It’s too much right now. It’s a mad world.”
The attack happened beside the Bath Beach waterfront, a residential area of southern Brooklyn where residents regularly use the shoreline paths for walking, biking and exercise.
The section near Shore Parkway overlooks Gravesend Bay and connects with a broader series of recreational routes stretching along Brooklyn’s coastline.
Suarez was training for Sunday’s New York City Marathon when she was fatally stabbed.
Photos taken after the attack showed a large police presence as investigators examined the promenade. Blood was visible on a railing near the location where Suarez was wounded.