A customer so enraged with bank staff at a Chase location in Manhattan that he slashed a private security guard when he was asked to leave has been arrested, two senior NYPD officials with knowledge of the case said Saturday.
The guard, who was slashed in the neck Friday at the Upper East Side branch on 86th Street around 9 a.m., was taken to a hospital in grave condition but may recover, authorities said. He's since received stitches and stabilized, officials said.
According to the preliminary investigation, the attacker first showed up at the bank before it opened and demanded to be let inside. It wasn't clear exactly when that happened, but the security guard was there and told him to come back when it opened at 9 a.m., officials and sources say.
The man allegedly became irate when he saw people -- staff he mistook for customers -- being allowed inside the bank as he had to wait outside, the law enforcement officials said.
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He left and came back when it opened to meet with bank staff, officials say. It wasn't clear if he spoke to a teller or someone with member services, but officials say the man was told that what he wanted to do could not be done at that branch and he should call a 1-800 number instead for further assistance.
That's when the man allegedly started to flip out, the law enforcement sources say, and the manager told him to leave. The security guard was escorting him from the facility when he was attacked, they added.
Footage posted to the Citizen app showed a heavy law enforcement response at the scene. Multiple responders were seen working on the victim as they wheeled his stretcher into the ambulance. The victim was said to be in surgery late Friday morning.
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Jorge Santiago was arrested just after midnight Saturday for attempted murder and weapons charges, according to the two senior police officials. He had two knives in his possession at the time, but investigators say each will need to be analyzed before they can determine if one was used in the attack on the guard.
Attorney information for Santiago was not immediately known Saturday morning.
Chase Bank said in a statement that its thoughts were with the wounded guard and his family. The bank also said it was cooperating with the NYPD in the investigation.
Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS.
