A hammer-wielding maniac has been taken into custody after killing one and injuring two in an unprovoked attack at a Brooklyn restaurant, the motive behind which has been linked to “defending Chinese women.”
The man, identified as 34-year-old Arthur Martunovich, allegedly entered Seaport Buffet at Sheepshead Bay shortly after 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday with a hammer in hand, the New York Post reported.
After first bludgeoning the 60-year-old owner of the restaurant, Kheong Ng-Thang, over the head in the entryway, Martunovich proceeded to the kitchen, where he struck 50-year-old manager Tsz Mat Pun and 34-year-old chef Fufai Pun before fleeing the scene.
The chef was pronounced dead at the hospital while the other two victims are reported to be in critical condition.
“He was screaming crazy words, like ‘I’m killing everybody,’ he was just screaming crazy things,” Samantha Randazzo, who owns a clam bar up the street, told abc7NY. “They said he went in a city uniform, and he came in and just went crazy.”
Martunovich was quickly arrested by police less than two blocks away from the scene. He is facing charges of murder, attempted murder and weapons possession, and is expected to undergo psychiatric evaluation.
After being questioned for a motive behind the attack, it was revealed that Martunovich was, at least in part, inspired by resentment towards Asian men after watching a movie depicting Chinese women being mistreated by Chinese men.
“He had problems with Asian men,” a law enforcement source told The Post. “He talked about how Asian women are being treated by their men.”
Overall, his answers were reportedly meandering and incoherent, with one police source describing him as “rambling” and “all over the place.”
“He was saying psycho stuff about space aliens,” another high-ranking police source said.
Martunovich, who emigrated from Estonia as a teen, had no previous criminal history prior to Tuesday. Although he was suspected of assault in 2016, no charges were pressed as the alleged victim did not pursue the case.
He was allegedly also the victim of two assaults, one in 2004 and another in 2016.
Featured Image Screenshots via abc7NY
