A New York City Department of Education employee faces murder charges in connection with the stabbing death of a 28-year-old woman in Brooklyn last week, authorities announced Saturday.

Katie Suarez stabbed while running

Her father found Suarez injured on the road. She was rushed to hospital She was stabbed in the neck

On Saturday, the New York Police Department said it arrested Sayed Mohassib, 27, of Brooklyn. Mohasib was charged with second-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence and unlawful possession of a weapon. When police led Mohashib out of the 62nd Precinct on Saturday afternoon, he was wearing flip-flops and a red jacket and did not answer any questions.

The suspect is an employee of the New York City Department of Education. He worked for Public Schools 200 in Brooklyn and was also a member of the New York City Police Department conducting field training in the Bronx from October to November 2022, police sources said.

“The safety of our students is our top priority. We have suspended the individual and will terminate his employment pending a conviction. We support the NYPD’s investigation, which is necessary,” the Department of Education said in a statement.

Mohashib’s tenure at the Energy Department has raised questions among elected officials. City Councilmember Kayla Santososo, state Sen. Andrew Gounaldes and Assemblyman-elect Chris McCreit said in a joint statement that Mohashib is “clearly a mentally disturbed individual with no criminal record” and that he is a “former NYPD officer and former Marine who was discharged from the military for psychiatric reasons.”

“But what is troubling is that at the time of the attack, he was a DOE employee working as a teacher’s aide in a public school,” they said. “This final revelation raises serious questions about how he became employed at a local public school and requires a full investigation into the circumstances of his hiring and continued employment.”

Call on suspects to surrender