A serial attacker is believed to have assaulted two people in Brooklyn and fatally slashed an elderly man, whose body was found in the elevator of his apartment building, police and sources said Saturday.
The scary string of events began between 1 and 1:30 p.m. when a man punched a woman at Pacific Street and Third Avenue in Boerum Hill, sources said.
A block away, at 134 Nevins Street, the same attacker is believed to have slashed a woman in the thigh, authorities said.
Police responding to a 911 call found the 31-year-old victim and took her to Methodist Hospital for treatment.
Then, just after 2 p.m., the body of an 83-year-old man was discovered stabbed to death in the elevator on the 19th floor at 185 Nevins Street, police said.
The victim, who had slash wounds to the neck and right arm, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The city Medical Examiner is expected to determine the cause of death.
The 83-year-old was discovered dead inside an apartment at 185 Nevins Street by officers just before 2:30 p.m. with multiple stab wounds, according to police. Paul MartinkaNearly half a dozen NYPD patrol cars and at least 30 officers were on scene as authorities investigated the killing, prompting one woman to ask, “Is it safe?” before a cop assured her it was OK to go in.
“There’s always something going on in the area,” another neighbor standing outside said.
Police released photos of a man in a black hoodie they said was wanted for questioning in the homicide and the Nevins Street slashing.
No arrests have been made.
A 19th-floor neighbor who lived down the hall from the 83-year-old victim called the killer “cruel and heartless” for murdering a man who is “as harmless as a fly.”
“He was a very quiet and gentle man. He would always stick to himself. He comes out and helps decorate the hallway,” the neighbor, Robert, said of the victim — whose apartment door was covered in Christmas wrapping paper.
Several patrol cars were on the scene as officers investigated, prompting one woman to ask, “Is it safe?” Paul Martinka“He was really to himself. Whoever did this was really cruel and heartless. He was very fragile. He was maybe 70 pounds…very skinny,” Robert added.
He said the elderly man had lived in the apartment building since the 1960s.
Another building resident, James Dudley, 63, described the elderly victim as the “father of the neighborhood.”
“He was a religious type guy… He looked out for everyone,” Dudley told The Post.
