New York: Passersby Ignore Dying Homeless Man Stabbed After Saving Woman

Surveillance video shows Hugo Tale-Yax, right, a homeless man, collapsed with stab wounds on a pavement

A heroic homeless man stabbed after saving a New York woman from a knife-wielding attacker lay dying in a pool of blood for more than an hour as nearly 25 people indifferently strolled past him.

The New York Post said today some of the passersby paused to stare at Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax last Sunday and others leaned down to look at his face, a shocking surveillance video from the incident revealed.

He jumped to the aid of a woman attacked in the New York borough of Queens at 5.40am (local time) and was stabbed several times in the chest and collapsed as he chased the assailant.

In the wake of the bloodshed, a man came out of a nearby building and chillingly took a mobile phone photo of the victim before leaving.

In several instances, pairs of people gawked at Tale-Yax without doing anything.

Later, another man stopped, leaned over and vigorously shook Tale-Yax's body. After lifting the victim's head and body to reveal a pool of blood, he also walked off.

Not until some 15 minutes after he was shaken by the pedestrian - more than an hour and 20 minutes after the victim collapsed - did firefighters finally arrive and discover that Tale-Yax, 31, was dead.

Firefighters were responding to a 911 call of a non-life-threatening injury at 7.23am when they found his body.

Cops said they received four 911 calls at around the time of the attack reporting a woman screaming, but found nothing. They received no other 911 calls.

"That's unacceptable," said a woman who lives in the building near where Tale-Yax was killed.

"How can you be so heartless? If he's dying, he might've been saved. If you don't want to get involved, call 911 and leave."

Another area resident, Ramon Bellasco, 46, said: "It's no good. They needed to help and call the police. I don't get it."

No arrests were made, and police were unable to identify the woman Tale-Yax was trying to help.

By Ikimulisa Livingston and John Doyle

Source: New York Post