Former NYPD officer arrested and charged with second-degree murder in killing of Brooklyn jogger Katie Suarez

New York police announced on Saturday, November 7, the arrest of Sayed Mohassib, 27, of Brooklyn, charging him with second-degree murder in the fatal stabbing of 28-year-old jogger Katie Suarez. Suarez was stabbed in the neck while running on the Shore Parkway Greenway in Brooklyn on the evening of October 30 and died in hospital days later. Police said the investigation is continuing, the attack is believed to have been random, and no motive has been established. (Photo: the Shore Parkway area of Brooklyn, file photo. Photo: Run Every Street.)

Attacked on an evening run on October 30; died days later

The attack happened at about 8:15 p.m. on Friday, October 30, on the Shore Parkway Greenway, a waterfront path beside the Belt Parkway in the Bath Beach section of Brooklyn. Suarez had gone for a run after work; after being stabbed in the neck she managed to run about 150 feet before collapsing, and was taken to NYU Langone Hospital–Brooklyn, where she died days later. The medical examiner's office classified her death as a homicide on Friday, November 6. Suarez worked at TD Bank; at about 7:56 p.m. she spoke to her father by phone, saying she was about half a mile away and would meet him shortly. She had been training for a race on November 14.

Suspect briefly served as a police officer and school aide; now suspended

Police said Mohassib served briefly with the New York Police Department in 2022, for about six weeks, and was later discharged from the Marine Corps over psychological and mental health issues; at the time of his arrest he was working as a substitute paraprofessional at an elementary school in Brooklyn. The New York City Department of Education has suspended him and said it will move to terminate his employment. Investigators identified him through surveillance footage from near the scene; the only known connection between the two is that both attended Brooklyn College, according to reports. Police arrested him on November 7 at his home in Bensonhurst.

Charged with second-degree murder and two other counts; motive still under investigation

Mohassib is charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and criminal possession of a weapon, and will be arraigned in Kings County Criminal Court, with the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office prosecuting the case. The New York Post, citing police sources, reported that Mohassib told detectives he woke up covered in blood and holding a knife, with no memory of the attack; investigators say he discarded the knife, which was later traced to a landfill. Police believe the attack was random and have not determined a motive. The charges are allegations, and Mohassib is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

(Sources: New York Police Department; Associated Press; New York Post; ABC7, November 7, 2026.)