NEW YORK (WABC) — A Brooklyn grand jury voted on Tuesday to indict 27-year-old Sayed Mohassib, the man accused of fatally stabbing jogger Katie Suarez.
Mohassib was indicted on a top count of second-degree murder in Suarez’s death.
“Katie Suarez was a young woman with her whole life ahead of her, brutally taken from her loved ones in a senseless act of violence,” Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez said. “Today’s indictment marks an important step toward securing justice and I commend the NYPD for its swift and thorough investigation. We will vigorously prosecute this case to seek the full accountability that justice demands.”
Authorities allege Mohassib stabbed the 28-year-old woman on Oct. 30 while she was running near Shore Parkway and Bay 17th Street in Brooklyn.
Suarez’s family testified before the grand jury Monday.
Mohassib was arrested Saturday. At the time of his arrest, he was working as a teacher’s aide at P.S. 200. The Department of Education suspended him following his arrest and officially terminated his employment Monday.
The case has raised questions among parents and city officials about how Mohassib was allowed to work in a school setting.
According to court documents, Mohassib told detectives he went to the bike path carrying a knife because he believed people were going to kill his family.
His mother told Eyewitness News that her son has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals.
Records show Mohassib was first hired by the Department of Education in 2019 as an hourly support staff member. He joined the NYPD in 2022 and later spent a short time in the Marine Corps before leaving. In 2023, he attempted to rejoin the NYPD but was denied and sent to Bellevue Hospital. He was rehired by the Department of Education in 2024 as a substitute teacher’s aide.
Mayor Zohran Mamdani said Mohassib was terminated following a review of his hiring, and now there will be “a full review of the entire process of background and hiring at large.”
“What I can say at this time is, after conducting that review into the hiring process of this individual, they were terminated from their employment, and now they’re continuing with a full review of the entire process of background and hiring at large. And that’s something that’s true for New York City public schools, as well as looking at the ways in which it intersects with other city agencies,” Mamdani said. “That’s an urgent priority for us, and we will have when we have more to share, we will share.”
The Department of Education said it conducts background checks on employees and is examining whether its hiring processes can be strengthened. Mohassib remains in custody as the criminal case moves forward.
Meantime, city and state leaders gathered Tuesday in southern Brooklyn to call for safety and lighting improvements along the Shore Parkway Greenway, where Suarez was killed.
Advocates said a 1.3-mile stretch of the path lacks lighting. State Sen. Andrew Gounardes said, “We calculated that there is a 1.3 mile stretch of this promenade that is completely dark. There is no lighting and you’re too far from the highway to have any secondary light effects.”
Officials said it is unclear whether lighting would have prevented Suarez’s death, but argued that any potential safety benefit warrants action.
“We’re here demanding more lighting and a safer promenade, so that we do not have to keep telling more stories like that of Katie Suarez,” said Council member Kayla Santosuosso.
They also sent a letter to the New York City Department of Transportation outlining what they described as a backlog of streetlight repairs in southern Brooklyn.
According to a survey cited by elected officials, 137 streetlights were found out of service in Bay Ridge and Dyker Heights, though some repairs have already begun.
The Department of Transportation wrote in a statement, “This winter’s historic snowstorms and freezing temperatures took a toll on our aging street lighting infrastructure—some of which dates back to the early 20th Century.”
