Times Square More Like Toronto, Less Like Reality

The Bad Old Days or a Law & Order set? What the MOFTB hath wrought:

Times Square tourists were stunned yesterday when a 23-year-old Manhattan man was stabbed, leaving a blood-splattered crime scene that had some wondering whether it was real or a movie set.

Police said the victim, Juan Garcia of Riverside Drive, was stabbed in the back on 46th Street at about 7:20 a.m. Garcia managed to get away, but his knife-wielding assailant pursued him on foot to 45th Street and Broadway, where he stabbed Garcia again.

Witnesses said they saw Garcia collapse to the ground and then saw police running to the scene where they quickly handcuffed Antoine Poprilo, 37, of Manhattan, who they said was still holding the knife.

. . .

Scattered on the corner of 45th Street was blood-stained medical gauze, the victim’s breakfast sandwich and coffee, as well as his broken headphones and shirt. Confused tourists walking by did double takes, and some stopped when they realized they were walking by a real New York City crime scene that was cordoned off by yellow tape and uniformed police officers.

Marianne Wedgeworth, 43, of Lake Charles, La., said she heard emergency vehicles’ sirens as she was leaving her hotel.

“I wasn’t sure. I thought they were shooting a movie,” said Wedgeworth, who stopped to take a closer look at the scene.