“People have to protect themselves, because the government is not doing it”, commented Mr. Cazim Suljovic from his hospital bed (68) with his son Louie, a military veteran of 38 years , after both were stabbed while helping a woman in front of their family pizzeria in Queens (NYC).
The father was stabbed nine times and both he and his son suffered perforations in the lungs in the attack, according to prosecutors. The Korean woman of 61 years old, later identified as Eun Hee Chang, was also stabbed.
“There is no law. That’s why people do it (commit crimes). You can stand outside your own door, with many people on the street, and you are still not safe,” continued Mr. Cazim, an Albanian immigrant, in statements to the New York Post.
“There is no law. That’s why people”… commit crimes in NYC
Cazim Suljovic (61), stabbed
On Saturday night, Cazim and his son Louie worked hard at his Elmhurst pizzeria, Louie’s, when the father saw a 61 year old woman being assaulted outside his restaurant. Without hesitation, the two jumped in to help but ended up being stabbed and beaten with an unidentified object, police said.
Robert Whack (31) and his teenage brother-in-law Supreme Gooding (18) were taken into custody as a suspect. The duo faces charges of robbery, assault and criminal possession of a weapon for the incident at the pizzeria. They have also been accused of allegedly carrying out two other brutal attacks around the same time, one of which they have already admitted to doing.
“I see a lady on the floor and three people next to her. around. I say: ‘What are they doing?’ They are stealing from him,” Cazim recounted, describing the perpetrators as “damn bastards” and “animals”.
“My father persecuted them. He said my name and I chased after him,” Louie, who is also recovering from a punctured lung, recalled from his room at Elmhurst Hospital, the same facility where his pizzeria donated meals to staff and first responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. 19.
Louie said he hopes new Mayor Eric Adams can bring order to New York and do more to protect crime victims . “If it turns out to be a second (Bill de) Blasio, that will also need to be taken out, because you need someone who is a leader, who needs to make the city right again.”
“The police must be able to do their job, not be vilified. You give criminals a right, and when they have a right, they will do what they want. When they know they can’t get in trouble, a new kind of criminal is created,” Louie insisted.
Despite the injuries he and his father suffered, Louie said they do not regret helping the woman. “We weren’t going to let these people get away with attacking a poor old Asian woman. We do not allow that to happen. We try to defend everyone we can,” said the military veteran. “Although this is a consequence of it, we would do it again”.