by Katie Vasquez
John Mach showed off dozens of stitches which mend a serious cut that he received Sunday evening.
The caretaker at the Church of the Immaculate Conception was going about his normal duties, when he says he spotted a man urinating on a nearby car and confronted him.
“I got physical with him because he was exposing himself, he left,” said Mach.
But that wasn’t the end, John says later on as he was trying to help a parishioner who was in a wheelchair, the man returned, slashing him in his neck from behind his ear almost down to his chin.
“He just cut me without me looking,” said Mach. “I felt something hot go down my throat. I broke my long john, wrapped it around my neck, and I started chasing him out of the premises.”
John didn’t catch the suspect and EMS took him to Mount Sinai Beth Israel.
According to the NYPD crimes went down in 2023, murder dropping 12 percent and shooting incidents falling 25 percent.
Longtime East Village resident Sarah Ferguson says while this isn’t a violent neighborhood, this corner has gone downhill.
“I don’t know the exact cause or why it’s kind of off the hook. But that particular block between First avenue and A has definitely changed.”
John says he wouldn’t hesitate to stand up for his church if it happened again.
“If I have to get another one, I’ll get it. I don’t care. This is the church of the community. I’m not going to let nobody violate our rights,” said Mach. “We are fighting basically. I’m fighting for my parishioners. This is proof. It ain’t supposed to be like that.
Meanwhile police say the suspect is still on the loose and are asking for the public’s help.
Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477)