A New York City teen accused of randomly slashing a Queens mother with no provocation is now in custody.
Luis Emmanuel Valencia Ponce, 18, surrendered Thursday morning after surveillance video was released Wednesday, according to WABC-TV. Ponce’s father convinced him to turn himself in.
Ponce faces a charge of attempted murder and two counts of assault.
The 30-year-old victim’s husband said they do not know Ponce.
A teenager was arrested Thursday over the savage stabbing of a Queens mom of three as she was walking to a bus stop near her home earlier this week.
Luis Emmanuel Valencia Ponce, 18, was charged with attempted murder and assault for the attack – which is being described as… pic.twitter.com/w60rBYdhBK
— Crime In NYC (@Crime_In_NYC) March 19, 2026
Surveillance video showed the woman, who has three children, being stabbed once before her ski-masked attacker returned to stab her again when she was already wounded.
“She is scared of everything that happened and, obviously, does not want to come back to this area ever again,” her husband told WABC-TV. “After what happened, she’s afraid she’ll be attacked again.”
“He deserves exactly what is coming to him, more than anything else, we want justice — We want them to catch him, to lock him up, and to make him pay for what he did,” the victim’s husband said of the suspect. “Because what he did to her was completely unjust, especially considering she is a woman.”
The victim’s family says the young mother is recovering in the hospital, but is in a lot of pain. She said it is hard for her to move her arm and back, where she suffered stab wounds.
Video showed the suspect stalking his victim even before she reached the bus stop, according to the New York Post.
Police said a bloody knife was recovered from the crime scene.
Victim Lisette Ramales said she was taken by surprise.
“I was waiting for the light to turn to walk. [While] I was waiting, all of a sudden, the guy slashed me,” she said.
“I yelled, and he looked like he turned around to go. And then just because I yelled, he did it again,” she said, noting that not a word was spoken by her attacker.
“That’s the weird part. He didn’t say anything,” Ramales said. “He didn’t take anything, my belongings — nothing.”
In addition to stab wounds, the attack left Ramales with multiple broken ribs.
“Honestly, I’m scared to go back home,” Ramales said. “If I do work, I’m probably just going to go a little later in the day when there’s sunlight.”
Berelyne Chalas, 21, who lived upstairs from the suspect, said Valencia Ponce was “very quiet. You know, like an emo kid. He’s always wearing a hoodie. He just minds his own business, very quiet, very reserved.”
“It’s really creepy,” he said.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
