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Family Horrified That NYers Ignored Dying Homeless Man

Jen Chung

Published Apr 25, 2010

Modified Apr 25, 2010

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Jen Chung

Published Apr 25, 2010

Modified Apr 25, 2010

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The family of a homeless man who was ignored by dozens of passers-by as he was dying on a Jamaica, Queens street expressed their grief over his death and New Yorkers' callousness. Edwin Tacam told the Post "That shouldn’t have happened," and said his cousin Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax "wouldn't have done that. It’s not important who it is, if we see someone hurt, we should help, at least call an ambulance. Lend a hand."

It's believed that Tale-Yax was fatally stabbed around 5:40 a.m. after apparently intervening in an incident where a woman was threatened by a knife-wielding man. While Tale-Yax's confrontation with the attacker is not captured on surveillance video, video does show Tale-Yax stumbling down the street and falling—and then pedestrians glancing at him and taking cellphone pictures of him for over an hour before firefighters arrived on the scene. The incident has prompted references to the Kitty Genovese incident—where a woman was fatally stabbed in Kew Gardens and her neighbors ignored her cries for help—and the bystander effect.

The Post reports that Tale-Yax was a "Guatemalan immigrant [who] eked out a living working odd jobs, but he was recently out of work and lost his home in Queens." His body is being sent back to Guatemala where his parents live. Tacam said, "He lost his life trying to help someone else — that’s brave. I guess you could say he was a hero."

Police are looking for a suspect in the stabbing, a man around 5'6" with a medium build who was wearing a green shirt, dark pants and green hat. According to the NY Times, "The police were not sure if the woman knew what happened to Mr. Tale-Yax, but they said it was possible she knew the suspect. The police expressed hope that news coverage of the killing will prompt her to realize and identify the suspect."

Tagged

bystander effect

crime

fatal stabbing

homeless man

Hugo Tale-Yax

ignored

jamaica

queens

Jen Chung

Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

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