A New York City public school employee who once spent a short stint as an NYPD officer has been charged with second-degree murder in the killing of a 28-year-old jogger in Brooklyn, in what police believe was a random attack.
Sayed Mohassib, 27, was arrested Saturday in connection with the death of Katie Suarez, who was attacked Oct. 30 while running on the Belt Parkway bike path. According to police, Mohassib told investigators he had been walking along the path carrying a knife.
Law enforcement sources said Mohassib claimed he blacked out and was covered in blood when he came to. Suarez was stabbed at least two times in the neck. She was taken to a hospital, where she died of her injuries days later.
Detectives identified Mohassib as a suspect in part through surveillance footage from the surrounding area. Security cameras also recorded him throwing out bags of garbage near his home on the night of the killing, and investigators were searching a sanitation facility for any evidence that may have been discarded.
Mohassib joined the NYPD as a rookie in October 2022 and spent about a month working in the Bronx before requesting a reassignment to the military on extended leave. A law enforcement source familiar with his background said he was removed from military service because of mental health issues. He formally resigned from the NYPD on Dec. 16, 2022, while still on his military assignment. His department-issued firearm had already been taken away and was never given back.
In January 2023, the NYPD rejected his request to be reinstated. The source said he was taken to the psychiatric ward at Bellevue Hospital after behaving strangely when he showed up in person seeking to get his job back. In a separate episode on Sept. 27, 2024, police were called to his Brooklyn home. He was not there when officers arrived, but his mother and sister told police he had threatened to chop them up. He was located nearby and taken to Coney Island Hospital, the source said.
Most recently, Mohassib worked for the city Department of Education as a paraprofessional at P.S. 200, a Brooklyn elementary school also known as the Benson School. Law enforcement officials said he kept reporting to work after the stabbing. It was not immediately clear whether his psychiatric history was examined before he was hired.
"The safety of our students is our very top priority. We have suspended this individual and will move to terminate employment pending the outcome of the conviction," a DOE spokesperson said in a statement. "We are supporting the NYPD in their investigation however is needed."
Suarez had planned to meet her parents after her run. When she never showed up, her father went out to look for her and found her. Her mother, Yasira Suarez, said her daughter fought for her life in the hospital for several days before succumbing to her injuries. Police said they believe the attack was random.
