Add The New York Post on Google The knife-wielding nut accused of randomly stabbing an Australian tourist at an infamous Manhattan McDonald’s was arraigned Tuesday on an attempted murder charge — as the teen victim remains hospitalized with a punctured lung.
Juan Mercedes, 25, was held on $150,000 bail during the Manhattan Criminal Court hearing for allegedly stabbing a 19-year-old out-of-towner at what locals call the “murder McDonald’s” on Eighth Avenue near Penn Station.
Mercedes calmy walked up to the 19-year-old tourist who was eating with his pals and allegedly knifed him twice in the back in an unprovoked attack around 2 a.m. Monday, prosecutors said, citing video footage and eyewitness accounts.
Prosecutors said that Mercedes then walked out of the fast food joint and was found by cops nearby holding a knife.
The victim suffered stab wounds to his lower right torso and lower right back which punctured his lung, according to the DA’s office.
Mercedes has no clear ties to the Big Apple and would not provide a current address or contact details to police when asked, according to the DA’s office.
He was carrying a Florida license when he was arrested, and prosecutors said he has a criminal record in the Sunshine State.
The McDonald’s eatery at 490 Eighth Avenue, which is open 24/7, has earned a sordid reputation and remains a known hangout for troublemakers, including drug dealers, thugs and junkies from a nearby methadone clinic, neighborhood regulars told The Post Monday.
“It’s a murder McDonald’s. They do whatever they want here. It’s like a little slice of hell because you can get whatever you need here,” one clinic patron named Toaster, 45, said.
“It’s a f—ing nightmare,” Toaster added. “You gotta watch out while you’re eating McDonald’s and you’re not even freaking from here.”
A panhandler and admitted former drug pusher named Tony said anyone with common sense stays away from the fast-food eatery after midnight.
“Once it gets dark that’s when all the stuff comes out … that’s when the vampires come out, the bloodsuckers,” he said.
“It’s money hour,” Tony added. “Not a place to be hanging out here at that late night.”
