By Ivan Pereira
A Brooklyn man who police believe may have been behind a series of stabbings in western Queens was arrested Tuesday evening and faces charges of stabbing a woman this weekend as she was taking a walk with her daughter.
Elie Granger, 46, of 1109 Manhattan Ave., was questioned for hours at the 114th Precinct and was charged by police with attempted murder and assault in connection with the stabbing of Eduarda Olivia, authorities said.
Around 9:50 a.m. Sunday Olivia, 39, was walking with her 13-year-old daughter near Queens Plaza North and 22nd Street when a man on a bike approached her, stabbed her in her left breast and fled on his two wheeler, according to police.
Olivia, who was not robbed, was rushed to New York-Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell in critical condition, but was upgraded to serious Sunday night, police said. Her daughter was unharmed and did not recognize her mother's attacker when questioned after the incident, police said.
The victim's husband and son were out of the country on a trip and were returning home, according to police. Olivia, a native of Honduras, lives at the nearby Queensbridge housing project, according to the New York Post.
Granger was scheduled for arraignment Wednesday morning, a spokesman for the Queens district attorney's office said.
The attack appeared to have been random, according to the police. A police spokesman said the NYPD was investigating whether Granger was involved in two stabbings that occurred in the same area a year ago.
The area where Olivia was attacked is filled with industrial buildings that were closed during the time of the incident. An officer at the scene said that after the stabbing the perpetrator may have gone around the Silvercup Studio and fled.
A Silvercup employee said he thought he saw a bald man on a bike ride around the studio around the time of the stabbing.
Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told reporters Monday that the attack was captured on videotape by a surveillance camera and detectives were examining the footage. The attacker waited for a nearby ambulance to leave the area before he left the scene, according to Kelly.
Nathan Duke contributed to this story.
Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
