A 34-year-old man sleeping in a New York City park was found stabbed in the stomach early Tuesday morning, police said.
NYPD officers responding to a 911 call about a man stabbed near West and Christopher streets around 4:40 a.m. found the victim knifed in the stomach, cops say.
According to two senior NYPD officials, when cops responded the found the man conscious but on ground. When they tried to move him, the man said he couldn't move because of pain in his back.
When EMS responded, they found a puncture wound to the right abdomen. The man was taken to NYC Health & Hospitals/Bellevue, where he was pronounced dead.
An investigation revealed that the man was sleeping on a bench on a walking path near Hudson River Park when he was stabbed by an unknown individual, according to the sources. The man somehow go to the West Side Highway location where officers found him, according to police sources.
The man was subsequently identified by police as Pape Cisse, a resident of the Bellevue Men's Shelter.
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It's not clear why he was victimized -- or by whom.
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Police say their investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
