Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Brooklyn Man Charged With Hate Crime For Fork Stabbing
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 29, 2012
Modified Aug 29, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
NYPD
By
Ben Yakas
Published Aug 29, 2012
Modified Aug 29, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
A Brooklyn man has been charged with a hate crime after he allegedly hurled racial slurs at a black man sitting with two white women, and then stabbed him with a fork. Nicholas Melo, 34, allegedly attacked Akbar Salahuddin, 49, around 2:45 a.m. in the Bridgeview Diner in Bay Ridge last November. Melo allegedly called Salahuddin's two female companions “n----- loving b-----s” before he attacked them.
According to the criminal complaint, Melo then allegedly punched Salahuddin while calling him the n-word, and stabbed him in the head and back with a fork. Melo wasn't caught by police until this past April, when he was pulled over for talking on a cell phone, making an illegal u-turn, and driving with a suspended license. At the time of his arrest, he tried to escape cops by telling them, “I have to go, I have a job interview that my mother set up."
Melo's lawyer Mario Romano told the News the incident was provoked by one of the women tossing a bottle at him. Melo has been charged with assault in the second degree as a hate crime; he faces up to 15 years in prison.
Tagged
Akbar Salahuddin
bay ridge
bigot
brooklyn
fork
hate crime
Nicholas Melo
racism
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Deer are all over New Jersey roads looking for sex, state officials warn
Mid-October through mid-December is deer mating season, which can be a danger to drivers as the sex-seeking creatures cross roadways throughout the Garden State.
By
Rosemary Misdary
Published Oct 16, 2026 at 4:22 p.m. ET
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
News
Man messaged 'I got straight poison' before giving NYC college students fentanyl, feds say
A transcript from an April court hearing sheds new light on what transpired at Fashion Institute of Technology.
By
Samantha Max
Inside the plan to fix the nearly collapsed Pfizer Building, 1/64th of an inch at a time
By
David Brand
School bus carrying autistic students got lost in Brooklyn for 4 hours last year
By
Jessica Gould
NYC’s bridges can last 'forever,' if we take care of them
By
Clayton Guse
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .