Homeless ex-con slashes man in Times Square, New York

Times Square. Photo / Getty Images

A homeless man shouted racial slurs at a man visiting Times Square with a friend - then slashed him in the face early Monday morning (US time), police said.

"I'm glad I'm alive - thank God it didn't happen to anybody else," victim Elsayed Elsayed said. Elsayed, 42, was allegedly slashed by Nestor Galindo, 33, with a pocketknife at
around 12.10am, the New York Post reported.

Elsayed said he was walking away from Times Square with a friend when Galindo, 33, accidentally kicked his friend in the leg.

"I look at him and I smile and I say, 'Hey buddy, what's up? You hit him,'" Elsayed said. " And he said, 'F*** you. I'm not your buddy.'"

Galindo then threatened to "cut" him," the victim said.

"He said go back to your country… I'll cut you!" said Elsayed, who works as a security guard. "I said, 'This is my country, too!' "

They argued for a few more seconds, then Elsayed tried to walk away - but Galindo jumped on his back and slashed him on the right side of his face, he said.

"I thought it was my friend joking with me. And then I felt something hit me in my face, and I saw him with a knife," he explained.

"He was a professional - he knows what to do. He covered the knife with his finger so people couldn't see it."

Elsayed kicked his attacker, who continued to try stabbing him, and screamed for witnesses to call the police.

Galindo tried to run away, but Elsayed followed him until cops could make an arrest.

The man was charged Monday with assault and criminal possession of a weapon, police said.

Elsayed moved to the US from Egypt, where he once worked as an air marshall for Egypt Air, in 2010. Without his training, the attack could've been much worse he said.

"What if a weak guy or a small guy or a young guy gets attacked by him? He can't protect himself," Elsayed said. "He will kill him."