More known about US Postal Service worker stabbed to death in NYC
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HARLEM, Manhattan (PIX11) – A U.S. Postal Service worker who was stabbed to death in New York City on Thursday was a family man raising two children, according to those who knew him.
Ray Hodge, a letter carrier for the U.S. Postal Service, was fatally stabbed during a fight at a deli in Manhattan, police said. The stabbing happened at Joe’s Grocery at 168 Lenox Ave. in Harlem around 2:30 p.m., according to the NYPD.
The letter carrier was on duty and making his rounds before he popped into the deli, a usual spot for his lunch break.
An employee who was inside the deli at the time of the stabbing said Hodge went to the counter to buy a sandwich. The deli worker said 24-year-old Jaia Cruz was behind Hodge in the store and started arguing over who was in line first.
"He told her, ‘I'm trying to order my sandwich. I was here,’" said the deli worker.
The deli worker said the two kept arguing, and people unsuccessfully tried to intervene.
“I separate them. She came from behind me, and she spit on him,” said the deli worker.
The deli worker said Hodge grabbed a bottle to defend himself.
“She took a knife and stabbed him in the neck and his stomach,” said the deli worker.
Hodge was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Cruz, a Harlem resident, was arrested shortly after the stabbing and was charged with second-degree murder, police said.
Hodge was 36 years old and lived in the Bronx. His family, friends, and colleagues said he was a family man raising two boys.
"We lost an angel. We lost one of the good ones through senseless violence. And it just has to stop,” said James Johnson, a friend of Hodge.
Those who knew Hodge questioned why his life was taken over something so petty.
“You come to the store with a knife and you stab a postal worker? If he’s not protected, then who is in this city?” Johnson said.
Finn Hoogensen is a digital journalist who has covered local news for more than six years. He has been with PIX11 News since 2022. See more of his work here.