Friend watched as man was stabbed to death in Queens bar: ‘When he drinks he gets a little crazy,’ suspect’s relative tells cops.
Jason Schuler is taken from the 109th Pct. Tuesday, September 26, 2023 in Manhattan, New York. Schuler is charged with the murder of Elliot Ortiz and weapons possession. Barry Williams/New York Daily News/TNS
A friend of a man who was stabbed to death in a Queens bar fight watched as his pal’s killer attacked him from behind, police said Tuesday.
Witnesses told detectives there was no argument before Jason Schuler ran up behind Elliot Ortiz on Sunday and punched him in the head on the back deck of Kelly’s Pub on 41st Ave. near Main St. in Flushing around 9:50 p.m. Sunday, cops said.
A friend of Ortiz, 45, was getting a drink from the bar when he spotted the altercation, Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said during a Tuesday news briefing.
“(He) comes out, sees the perpetrator run up behind (Ortiz), punch him in the head, remove a knife and start stabbing him,” he said.
Ortiz pulled out his own knife and fought back, stabbing Schuler multiple times, he added.
Responding officers found Ortiz in the doorway of the bar with a stab wound to the head. He was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Queens, but he couldn’t be saved.
Cops found Schuler, 39, wounded on the street outside the bar. He was taken to the same hospital, treated and released.
Police are still working out what the fight was about, but a relative of Schuler’s told police that the man is “not supposed to drink. When he drinks, he gets a little crazy.”
Schuler was charged with murder and weapon possession at the 109th precinct stationhouse in Flushing on Monday.
Police transported him to Queens Criminal Court on Tuesday afternoon to face the charges. His arraignment was pending Tuesday night.
