New York City Shaken by Brutal Murder of Jogger in Brooklyn
The murder of 28-year-old runner Katie Soares in Brooklyn has shocked New York City, as the suspect, a former police officer with a history of mental instability, was employed as a public school teaching assistant. The attack has triggered intense public criticism over municipal safety.
The brutal murder of a young runner in Brooklyn has sent shockwaves across New York City, sparking fierce public outrage and scrutiny over municipal security and employment vetting. The suspect, 27-year-old Sayed Mohasib, is a public elementary school teaching assistant, a former police officer, and a discharged Marine. According to prosecutors, the victim's blood was found on the walls of his apartment, and he admitted to attempting to clean it.
Katie Soares, a 28-year-old bank teller and amateur runner training for the New York City Marathon, went for a run along the waterfront path in the Bath Beach neighborhood on October 30. After finishing work, she met her mother at a nearby Wendy's restaurant, changed into sportswear, and set out. At 7:56 PM, her father, a bus driver, spoke with her by phone, and she mentioned she was about 800 meters away from him. When she failed to arrive, her parents set out to search for her. Her father found her about twenty minutes later, unconscious beneath a tree with stab wounds to her neck. He flagged down a cyclist to call for emergency help.
Investigators discovered a 45-meter blood trail at the scene, though her phone, headphones, and jewelry were not stolen. Soares had planned to run the marathon with her mother, but three days after the attack, she succumbed to her injuries in the hospital. "She just wanted to run," her mother, Yasira, told reporters, pleading for public assistance to find the attacker and adding, "You took an angel." Soares' organ donation saved the lives of five people, and her younger brother vowed to complete all the races she never had a chance to finish.
Mohasib, a Muslim of Egyptian descent, frequented a local mosque, according to a neighbor. Law enforcement sources stated he served briefly with the NYPD before joining the Marine Corps, from which he was discharged due to mental health issues. When he attempted to rejoin the police force, his violent behavior raised serious concerns, prompting a psychiatric evaluation. In September 2024, his mother and sister told police that he had threatened to dismember them. Despite this alarming background, he was employed as a teaching assistant at an elementary school located just blocks from the crime scene, and even returned to work with children after the attack.
Security cameras captured Mohasib pacing back and forth near the crime scene. Investigators tracked his movements through additional footage, eventually tracing him to a local barbershop where they identified him. During interrogation, he claimed he was walking with a knife, experienced memory loss, and woke up covered in blood without remembering the attack, later stating he threw the knife in a trash can. During his court appearance, he spoke almost exclusively to correct the judge on the pronunciation of his name. Mohasib has been charged with second-degree murder, weapons possession, and tampering with evidence, and is being held without bail as police investigate the attack as a random act of violence, despite the fact that the two had previously attended the same college.
