Cabbie Beaten, Stabbed by Passenger Angry About Wrong Address

Police are looking for the man who punched, slashed and stabbed a New York City cab driver Saturday night after being taken to what he said was the wrong address in the Bronx.

Police say the cab driver picked up the rider, described as a man in his 20s, at Delancey and Ludlow streets about 2 a.m., and that the man asked to be taken somewhere in the Bronx.

The driver, Mohammad Ali, told NBC 4 New York that when they arrived at the 1900 block of Grand Concourse, he said "This is your place?"

"And he said, 'This is not the place,' so I stopped the meter, because if I did, that's my mistake," Ali said.

Ali says that when he told the man to pay him and then he'd go to the right location, the suspect threw money for the fare at him. The suspect then slapped the cabbie in the face and got out of the car. 

The suspect then smashed the taxi's passenger-side windows.

He briefly ran off, but then returned and came up to the driver's side, where he punched Ali in the face again as the cabbie was frantically calling the police.

The suspect cut the driver's wrist and back with a box cutter and took back his money. Finally, the assailant slashed the taxi's front two tires before leaving the scene. 

Ali says he's terrified to drive at night now, and wonders what would have happened if the man had a gun.

"He would've shoot me with the gun, you know?" 

If you know anything about the attack, contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS or www.nypdcrimestoppers.com. 
 
--Tracie Strahan contributed to this story
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