A young woman out for an evening jog along a popular Brooklyn waterfront promenade was left brain dead after a horrifying knife attack.
Katie Suarez, 28, was stabbed in the neck shortly after 8pm on Friday near Bay 17th Street and Shore Parkway in Bath Beach, in what police are investigating as an apparent random attack.
According to police sources, Suarez's father had gone out looking for her when he came across his critically injured daughter bleeding out on the nearby grassy area.
The bank teller was rushed to NYU Langone Hospital in critical condition, but the devastating extent of her injuries became clear on Saturday when she was declared brain dead, according to police sources.
Now, as investigators work to establish what happened, neighbors have paid tribute to the young woman they knew as a gentle, hardworking and exceptionally kind presence in their community.
Suarez worked as a cashier at a local bank branch, where she was remembered as a professional and dedicated employee.
One neighbor told The NYPost that she was 'very professional, very kind'. The neighbor also described her as a ' very soft spoken girl, very nice,' and noted it's 'very sad for her.'
He said her treatment of those around her had left a lasting impression.
Katie Suarez, 28, was jogging on a popular waterfront promenade in Brooklyn, when she was knifed in the neck in a savage attack near Bay 17th Street and Shore Parkway in Bath Beach just after 8pm
Disturbing images captured a scene of gore, with blood smeared on a railing and red stains on the concrete path in Bath Beach
She was rushed to Langone Hospital where she was left in a coma, before subsequently being declared brain dead
In a devastating revelation, Suarez had reportedly been training for Sunday's New York City Marathon
'Nobody is supposed to have [their] life taken, you know, being bad or good, but she was kind of exceptional to me, the way I interact with her,' he said.
The neighbor described Suarez and her partner as considerate people who regularly walked through the neighborhood and treated others with respect.
'A good teller and good character, you understand? Looks like a very family-oriented woman,' he added.
Another resident, Anna Dece, struggled to put her shock into words, saying the violence had struck painfully close to home.
'I'm very sad. That's terrible. I'm sad for everybody,' she said. 'But this is close. It's too much right now. It's a mad world.'
The attack unfolded along the waterfront in Bath Beach, a residential corner of southern Brooklyn where locals use the shoreline paths for evening walks, cycling and exercise.
The stretch around Shore Parkway offers residents access to the waterfront overlooking Gravesend Bay and is part of the wider network of recreational routes running along Brooklyn's coastline.
Suarez had reportedly been training for Sunday's New York City Marathon when her life was tragically transformed.
The event organizer told Fox News: 'We were sad to hear of this horrible attack-our hearts are with her family and the running community.'
It was against this familiar neighborhood backdrop that Suarez was allegedly attacked.
Suarez had reportedly been training for Sunday's New York City Marathon when her life was catastrophically altered
Neighbors have described the woman as someone of 'good character' and a 'family orientated woman'
The waterfront promenade where the tragic incident took place is popular with walkers, bikers and fishermen and is a residential corner of southern Brooklyn
Disturbing photographs from the scene showed a heavy police presence, with investigators examining the area and blood smeared along a railing near the spot where the young woman was stabbed.
The circumstances leading up to the stabbing remain unclear, and the information released so far has not established whether Suarez knew her attacker or why she was targeted.
For residents, the sudden violence has shattered the sense of security surrounding a place many regard as an ordinary setting for an evening run.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Suarez's family for comment.
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