Man, 30, stabbed to death on the street around the corner from Harlem home.
A 30-year-old man was stabbed to death on the street around the corner from his Harlem home early Sunday, police said.
The victim, identified by relatives as Jesse Howard, was stabbed twice in the chest at W. 134th St. and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. about 2 a.m. He also suffered a cut on his face.
Medics rushed Howard to Harlem Hospital but he couldn’t be saved.
“I just can’t believe he’s gone,” said friend Brielle George, 29. “Everyone knows him for his smile. He loved everybody.”
Howard had a young daughter and recently got a job working at an American Eagle store.
“He was a hard working man,” George said. “He was getting on a good path.”
“He was a good man. He was very charismatic, funny,” she added. “He was a father, just got a job and he was fairly young. He was taken way too soon,”
Howard’s friends said he was working to get his life in order after serving some time in prison. Law enforcement sources said he had past arrests for drug possession and robbery.
“That was a good man and he was a father,” said another friend, who didn’t give his name.
Police have made no arrests in his slaying.
Howard’s brother, Joshua, said he is still piecing together what happened.
“I got home around 2:45 and they told me my brother got stabbed,” he told the Daily News. “There were some people who I think live on the block that were at my door when I got home from work.”
Howard’s friends took to social media to mourn his death Sunday morning.
“Jesse. You and your daughter are Aries twins . Birthdays literally a day apart from each other,” wrote one Facebook user. “All I can think about is what kinda effect this will have on your daughter, Sleep peacefully watch over her.”
Mousa Bagyoko, 68, who works at the nearby Brothers Mini Grocery, said crime remains a problem on the block, referring to a non-fatal shooting that happened in June.
“This area is no good. There’s no self control with the people,” he said. “I’m sorry to hear that the guy passed…. There’s a lot of problems in this area. I just hope it gets better.”
Harlem’s 32nd Precinct has seen an uptick in homicides this year, with eight victims through Oct. 22 compared to seven in the same timeframe last year.
Citywide , homicides are down more than 12 % this year, with 319 slayings as of Oct. 22, compared to 363 victims by that time last year.
