Ramon Rivera, a tall, scruffy 51-year-old with a salt-and-pepper beard, had only been out of jail for a month when he shocked New York City with a horrifying crime spree. Early Monday morning, he approached a construction worker on the street and, without saying a word, fatally stabbed him. But he wasn’t done. Over the next two hours, Rivera roamed Manhattan, attacking a fisherman and a woman sitting on a park bench. Both lost their lives.
When police caught him, Rivera’s clothes were soaked in blood, and he had two bloody kitchen knives in his possession. Mayor Eric Adams called Rivera a homeless man with a troubled past and “severe mental health issues,” pointing out how his case reveals the deep cracks in the city’s justice and mental health systems.
This tragedy has left the city grappling with big questions about how to handle homelessness and mental illness while keeping the streets safe. Mary Brosnahan, who spent 30 years advocating for homeless people, summed it up: “Every six months, something like this happens. And people feel unsafe because nothing ever seems to change.”
Congressman Jerrold Nadler joined local officials in demanding answers. In a letter, they called Rivera’s release into the public without proper care or supervision a “damning indictment” of the system. “These deaths might have been prevented,” they wrote.
A month before the stabbings, Rivera had stood in a Manhattan courtroom. He’d recently finished serving eight months on Rikers Island for burglary and assaulting a correction officer. Now, he faced a new charge for stealing a $1,500 acrylic bowl. At the time, his lawyer argued that Rivera was homeless, struggling with basic needs like food and shelter, and asked the court to release him under supervision. The judge agreed, placing him in a supervised release program meant to offer support and keep him on track. But clearly, something went very wrong.
In the weeks leading up to the attacks, it’s unclear what kind of help Rivera actually got. What is clear is that his mental health was spiraling. Records show he’d called police last December, saying he felt “suicidal and homicidal.” They took him to a hospital, but after that, he was back on the streets. As Brosnahan put it, “He reached out for help, and then he was just let go. That’s not a plan for anyone.”
On Monday, Rivera’s first victim was a construction worker, 36-year-old Angel Lata Landi, originally from Ecuador. At 8:20 a.m., Rivera stabbed him near a Chelsea construction site. Angel died later at the hospital. About two hours later, Rivera attacked 67-year-old Chang Wang, who was fishing near the East River, and then 36-year-old Wilma Augustin, who was sitting on a bench near the United Nations. Both were killed. Wilma leaves behind an eight-year-old child.
Rivera reportedly told investigators he chose his victims because they were “alone and distracted.” According to police, there were no arguments, no theft—just sudden, violent attacks.
Mayor Adams has been vocal about the need for stronger laws to allow the city to remove people who are a danger to themselves or others from the streets, even if it means doing so without their consent. Critics, however, argue the city doesn’t have enough psychiatric beds or long-term care options to help people like Rivera.
Homelessness and mental illness in New York City are not new problems, and advocates say the system is broken at every level. The lack of resources means people like Rivera often fall through the cracks. Kim Hopper, a Columbia University professor who has studied homelessness for decades, called it “a whole rotten system.” He explained, “No one agency has the tools or resources to handle this effectively, so the problems just get passed around until something terrible happens.”
For now, Rivera is behind bars, charged with three counts of first-degree murder. He has pleaded not guilty and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. But the bigger question remains: How do we prevent something like this from happening again?
