Mother of Brooklyn jogger murder suspect breaks silence: 'I lost my son'
The mother of Sayed Mohassib, charged with stabbing jogger Katie Suarez in Brooklyn, has spoken publicly for the first time, defending her son while expressing grief.
'We both lost': Mother of Brooklyn stabbing suspect speaks out
The mother of the man charged with the fatal stabbing of Brooklyn jogger Katie Suarez has spoken publicly for the first time since his arrest, defending her son's character while expressing sympathy for the victim's family, abc7ny.com reports.
Fatma Mohassib addressed reporters at the family's Bensonhurst home — the same address where police arrested her son, Sayed Mohassib, on Saturday morning.
"I'm in deep pain, I'm in deep trouble. I hope everything will go ok," Fatma said.
Despite the serious charges against her son, she insisted he had a positive upbringing. "He's a black belt, he goes to Boy Scouts all his life, goes to the mosque all his life, he goes to Brooklyn College, the team basketball, excellent boy," she said.
Security footage and a knife
Authorities allege security camera footage places Mohassib near the scene of the attack both before and after Suarez was stabbed while jogging near Shore Parkway and Bay 17th Street on 30 October. According to court documents, Mohassib told detectives he went to the bike path that day carrying a knife because he believed "people were going to come and kill his family."
Court records further state that once near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, Mohassib told investigators he "sat down on a bench" and "became covered in blood." After returning home, he allegedly "got rid of the bloody clothing" and "the knife," and told detectives he "got blood in his apartment which he attempted to clean."
Court papers indicate he discarded items through a garbage chute while wearing only underwear. That chute sits across from the family apartment where, according to police, his mother and sister called 911 in 2024 after he allegedly threatened to chop them up.
Fatma Mohassib denied those allegations. "He never attacked me, never attacked his sister, never attacked anyone in the neighborhood," she said.
Psychiatric history and police ties
She acknowledged concerns about her son's mental health, saying he had been in and out of psychiatric hospitals, with his longest stay lasting two months. According to the report, Mohassib left the NYPD after only a few weeks and later joined the Marines. His mother said the rules were too difficult for him. When he subsequently attempted to rejoin the police department, he was denied entry and taken to Bellevue Hospital.
The victim's final moments
Suarez was jogging when she called her father to tell him she was on her way back. When she failed to arrive, her father went looking for her and found her critically injured.
Fatma Mohassib said she shares in the grief of the Suarez family. "My heart goes deep to the mother and the father. Just, we both lost — you lost your daughter, I lost my son," she said.
The case remains pending as prosecutors pursue murder charges against Sayed Mohassib.
Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)