A homeless man with a long arrest record and a history of mental problems has been arrested after going on a stabbing spree in Manhattan. Two people were killed and a third is still hospitalized.

A lone, knife-wilding assailant killed two men and critically wounded a woman during an hourslong stabbing spree Monday morning through the streets of New York City, authorities said.

The two slain men — attacked near 444 W. 19th St. at 8:22 a.m. ET and then by 500 E. 30th St. at 10:27 a.m. — were taken to Bellevue Hospital before they were pronounced dead, officials said.

Then a woman was stabbed in the shadows of the United Nations, near East 42nd Street and First Avenue at 10:55 a.m., leaving her in critical condition.

The first victim was a Hispanic construction worker in his 30s. He was stabbed in the stomach and died at the hospital. The second victim was an Asian man in his late 60s who was fishing when he was attacked. The final victim was a 30-year-old black woman. None of the victim's names have been released.

The suspect is already in custody. He was found covered in blood and carrying two kitchen knives also covered in blood. It's believed he had no connection to the victims. He apparently just chose them at random.

The alleged attacker was caught at 46th Street and 1st Avenue and is currently in custody at a police precinct, police officials announced at a press conference Monday afternoon...

"These attacks appear to be unprovoked, that he just walked up to them and stabbed them with a knife," said NYPD chief of detectives Joseph Kenny...

The suspect has "severe mental health issues" that need examination and there are questions about why he was out on the streets, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference.

The NY Post reports he was a "resident of the Bellevue Men’s Shelter," meaning he was homeless. At a press conference, police revealed he had 8 prior arrests. One of those, for grand larceny, just happened in October. As noted above, Mayor Adams said the attacker had been sentenced for a prior crime and it wasn't clear why he was on the street.

A witness to one of the attacks said he could tell the man was homeless and thought he was robbing people. He had no idea he had already murdered two people.

“What’s wrong with New York City?” Eyewitness asks after seeing suspect who stabbed three people in Manhattan get arrested in Midtown. pic.twitter.com/QkY7ylr2Fn

— Dean_Moses (@Dean_Moses) November 18, 2024

NY Post columnist says this is the man who was arrested:

Breaking: the suspect in the random stabbing incidents (2 are dead, 1 in critical condition) in Manhattan this morning is Ramon Rivera. He’s been arrested 8 times, 7 of them for felonies in NY, and also has a criminal history in FL. pic.twitter.com/ebZOVlgehP

— Karol Markowicz (@karol) November 18, 2024

Here's the full press conference.