New York

Uber Driver Found Stabbed to Death; Police Looking for Suspect

"I'm in pain, I'm in pain," the victim's wife tells News 4. "I don't know if I'm going to survive this because it is too much."

What to Know

  • The NYPD is looking for the attacker of a 27-year-old Uber driver who was found stabbed to death in his car
  • The driver was found inside a car parked on a Bronx roadway, with stab wounds to his neck and chest
  • A group that represents for-hire drivers is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest

Family and friends of the 27-year-old Uber driver who was found stabbed to death in his car over the weekend are shocked and heartbroken over the tragic death as the NYPD continues to search for the attacker.

Police say the car was parked on a Bronx roadway around 9 p.m. Saturday. The driver was inside, with stab wounds to his neck and chest.

The New York Times reported the driver, Ganiou Gandonou, was a for-hire driver with Uber, but it was unclear if he had been driving on a job at the time.

Police were looking for a man wearing dark clothing seen walking northbound on Co-op City Boulevard for questioning. 

An Uber spokesman, Grant Klinzman, told the Times his death was "a horribly tragic incident."

A group that represents for-hire drivers is offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Latifatou Alimi, Gandonou's wife tells NBC 4 New York she just doesn't know how shes going to be able to go on without her husband.

"I'm in pain, I'm in pain," she said. "I don't know if I'm going to survive this because it is too much. It's too much."

Alimi, who has a 2-year-old son with Gandonou, says she spoke and joked with her husband when he came home to eat before he went to work again Saturday.

"I can't even believe it," she said amid tears.

Alimi said Gandonou called her when he was at work, but later hung up before promising her he would call back. When he didn't call back, she says she knew something was wrong.

"He was everything to me," she said. "He loved my son."

She said everyone "loved" he husband and "respected" everyone.

"He didn't deserve it," she said.

Muhammad Luthor, a friend of Gandonou, also tells NBC 4 New York that they both grew up in the West African country of Benin and moved to the United States with their families to have a better life.

"It's hard to accept it," he said of his friend's death.

Alimi is urging the public to help police identify the suspect.

On Monday, the NYPD called the incident "a tragedy." Authorities are continuing to track down additional video and witnesses in hopes it will lead them to the suspect. 

Police say that, currently, it doesn't appear that anything of value was taken from Gandonou during the stabbing since authorities found money and his phone.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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